Saint John River Valley

The Saint John River, 660km (410mi) long with a catchment area of more than 67,000sq.km (25,800sq.mi), rises in the U.S. state of Maine before flowing south-eastwards through the Canadian province of New Brunswick. For some 100km (62mi) of its length it forms the frontier between the two countries. It enters the sea at Saint John on the Bay of Fundy.

After emerging from the northern-most foothills of the Appalachians the river traverses New Brunswick's agriculturally rich "potato belt", reaching the relatively flat coastal region near Fredericton.

Throughout its history the valley of the Saint John River has served as an important highway. European immigrants, arriving in numbers from the 17th C onwards, settled in the valley, at the heart of the region which came to be known as Acadia. The river itself was christened by Samuel de Champlain, who landed in the estuary on St John's Day (June 24th) 1604.

The natural route represented by the valley is still followed today by two major links in Canada's modern transport system, the TransCanada Highway and the railway.