The Ausable River, also known as AuSable River and originally written as "Au Sable", runs in the U.S. state of New York, from the Adirondack Mountains and past the village of Lake Placid and Au Sable Forks to empty into Lake Champlain. It has an East and West branch that join at Au Sable Forks. The river forms a partial boundary between Clinton County and Essex County. The Ausable River is known for its gorge, Ausable Chasm, located a few miles east of Keeseville.The Ausable River is 94mi long and drains a watershed of 516sqmi.It was originally named "Au Sable" (French for "sandy") by Samuel de Champlain when he first explored the region in 1609 because of its extensive sandy delta.West Branch Ausable RiverThe West Branch of the Ausable arises from the conjunction of the MacIntyre, South Meadow and Marcy Brooks, east of Mount Jo near the Adirondak Loj; it then runs 36mi northeast to Au Sable Forks, and is fed by Lake Placid and the Chubb River along the way. At high water-levels, the upper end provides demanding white-water paddling opportunities. Further along, it runs through High Falls Gorge at the Wilmington Notch, a gorge formed by a fault zone, with 700ft cliffs on one side and 1700ft cliffs on the other.
