Beaver Pond is a beautiful, shallow waterbody located at the southern base of Pleasant Mountain. It is broken up by three small islands, which provide interesting habitat to explore in a canoe or kayak. The rocky, southwest ridge of Pleasant Mountain towers on the northern side of the pond and provides a dramatic backdrop for a day on the water. In the height of the summer, freshwater jellyfish can sometimes be found in great abundance swimming in the pond’s waters.
Because of Beaver Pond’s shallow depth , it does not provide suitable habitat for coldwater fish. Largemouth bass were introduced by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife in 1960, and they now provide a self-sustaining fishery. Perch, pickerel, and bullhead also provide angling opportunity. Minnows, creek chubsucker, fallfish, white sucker and pumpkinseed sunfish are also found within Beaver Pond’s waters.
Denmark’s Beaver Pond is sampled by LEA once per year in August. The long-term average reflects data from 1997 to 2021. The Secchi disk reading for 2021 was 2.6 meters. The Secchi disk did hit the bottom, indicating that Secchi depth is not a reliable indicator of water clarity. The total phosphorus reading of 8.0 ppb falls into the moderate range. The chlorophyll-a reading of 2.0 ppb falls into the low range. Long-term trend analysis indicates chlorophyll–a concentrations in Beaver Pond are stable and total phosphorus concentrations are stable. The color reading for 2021 was 25.0 SPU, indicating that water in Denmark’s Beaver Pond is moderately colored.
Beaver Pond’s surface water chlorophyll (ppb), phosphorus (ppb), and Secchi depth (meters) data comparison. Colored areas represent the long-term range of values, from minimum to maximum. Area thickness indicates frequency of measurements at that value. Area thickness increases as more measurements are reported at that value. The vertical black line represents the long-term average value. The large red dot represents 2021’s average value.
21 percent of soils in the watershed are type A soils. Type A soils tend to be well drained sands, loams and gravels. When vegetation is removed and the soil is exposed they can be susceptible to erosion. Because they are often coarse with ample pore space, there is low runoff potential and water will not usually pool on them. These soils can be good places to site leach fields or infiltrate stormwater from a home or residence.
26 percent of soils in the watershed are type B soils. B soils have moderate infiltration rates and fine to moderate texture and soil size. They are usually made up silts and loams. Although not as well drained as A soils, they can also be good places to site leach fields and infiltrate stormwater.
26 percent of soils in the watershed are type C soils. C soils have low infiltration rates and typically have a layer that impedes the movement of water. These soils are made of sands, clays and loams and are one of the most common soil types in western Maine.
16 percent of soils in the watershed are type D soils. D soils have a high runoff potential and very low infiltration rates. Soils with a high water table, clay or other impervious layer near the surface are typically D soils. These soils are often associated with wetlands.
5 percent of soils in the watershed are type C/D soils. C/D soils are a mix of these two soil types. They have fairly high runoff potential and low infiltration rates and often pool water.
The remaining 6 percent of the watershed is taken up by the pond.
