- Runaway Pond
Infobox lake
lake_name = Runaway Pond
image_lake =
caption_lake =
image_bathymetry =
caption_bathymetry =
location =Glover, Vermont
coords =
type =
inflow =
outflow =
catchment =
basin_countries = United States
length = convert|1.5|mi|km|1
width = convert|.5|mi|km|1+
area =
depth = convert|100|ft|m|0+
max-depth =
volume =
residence_time =
shore =
elevation = convert|1289|ft|lk=on|abbr=on
islands =
cities =Runaway Pond was a
lake atGlover, Vermont .Hydrology
An engineer estimated that the pond must have contained 1.988 billion gallons of water.cite book | author = Boisvert, Jacques |title = Long Pond Lost! | publisher = The Kingdom Historical| year = July 2003]
History
On
June 6 ,1810 , workers intending to create a new outlet from Long Pond north to theBarton River , instead, unintentionally caused the banks of the entire body of water to give way. This resulted in a flood throughout the Barton River Valley. [An account of this incident appears, among other places, in an article in the June 1, 1810 issue of the journal "American Register, or General Repository of History, Politics & Science", pp. 160–161.]The valley drops 600 feet from Runaway Pond to Orleans for an average of about 40 feet per mile. [http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec//waterq/planning/docs/pl_basin17.assessment_report.pdf retrieved August 9, 2007] The water ran out of the pond in 1 hour and 15 minutes, but the mud ran out for hours. The water reached
Lake Memphremagog in 4 hours and reportedly raised the level there convert|1|ft|m|1.The initial surge took trees with it, building up a logjam, stopping the flood temporarily until the water pressure behind the jam backed up, causing another breakthrough. This scenario kept recurring in the flood's progress down to Barton.cite book | author = Boisvert, Jacques |title = Long Pond Lost! | publisher = The Kingdom Historical| year = July 2003]
The results of the flood can still be seen today in the village of Barton and elsewhere in the Barton River valley.
One of the laborers, Spencer Chamberlain, ran ahead of the flood to warn people at the mill just in time to save their lives. In fact, no lives were lost. This heroic act is commemorated each year on Glover Day (the first day of August) by a road race following the path of the flood.
The wayward pond was forever after known as "Runaway Pond."
Footnotes
External links
* Alexander, Wayne "Runaway Pond: The Complete Story; A Compendium of Resources". The Glover Historical Society and The Little House Desktop Publishing, 2006.
* http://www.rootsweb.com/~vermont/OrleansGlover.html Gazetteer of Lamoille and Orleans Counties, VT.; 1883-1884, Compiled and Published by Hamilton Child; May 1887
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