Maine is a U.S. state in the New England region of the northeastern United States.
It is bordered by New Hampshire to the west, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and northwest respectively.
As of April 2018, the population of Maine was estimated to be 1,341,582. It is the 42nd most populous state in the United States.
Maine is the 26th largest state in the United States in terms of total area with 35,385 square kilometers (91,646 square miles).
Augusta is the state capital of the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat of Kennebec County. The population of Augusta was estimated to be about 20,000 in 2018 making it the third-least populous state capital in the United States after Montpelier, Vermont and Pierre, South Dakota, and the ninth-most populous city in Maine.
Located in the far northeast corner of the United States, Maine is the largest of the New England states.
Maine is divided into three distinct areas; the Atlantic Ocean Coastal Lowlands, the Central Uplands, and mountain ranges of the Appalachian Mountains in the northwestern reaches of the state.
Mount Katahdin is the highest mountain in Maine at 1,605 meters (5,267 feet).
Maine has almost 400 kilometers (230 miles) of coastline. The jagged, and rockbound coastline is a mixture of bay, inlets, sandy beaches and thousands of odd-shaped islands.
Maine has 4 national park and 34 state parks.
Acadia National Park is a United States national park located in the state of Maine. The park reserves much of Mount Desert Island and associated smaller islands along the Atlantic coast. Initially created as the Sieur de Monts National Monument in 1916, the park was renamed Lafayette National Park in 1919, and was given its current name of Acadia in 1929. Acadia is the oldest American National Park east of the Mississippi River.
Mount Desert Island in Hancock County, Maine, is the largest island off the coast of Maine. With an area of 280 square kilometers (108 square miles) it is the 6th-largest island in the contiguous United States, and it is the second-largest island on the Eastern seaboard, behind Long Island and ahead of Martha’s Vineyard. The island is home to numerous well known summer colonies such as Northeast Harbor and Bar Harbor.
Portland Head Light, informally known as the Cape Elizabeth Lighthouse, is a historic lighthouse in Cape Elizabeth. The light station sits on a head of land at the entrance of the primary shipping channel into Portland Harbor, which is within Casco Bay in the Gulf of Maine. Completed in 1791, it is the oldest lighthouse in the state of Maine. The light station is automated, and the tower, beacon, and foghorn are maintained by the United States Coast Guard, while the former lighthouse keepers’ house is a maritime museum within Fort Williams Park.
Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens is a botanical garden in Boothbay, Maine. The garden is 270 acres (110 hectares) with more than a mile of waterfront on Barters Island Road. The gardens feature sculptures by fine artists, most of whom are from Maine. While many of the pieces are part of temporary exhibits, a good number are part of the Gardens’ permanent collection.
Eartha is the world’s largest rotating and revolving globe, located within the headquarters of the DeLorme mapping corporation in Yarmouth, Maine. The globe weighs approximately 2,500 kilograms (5,600 pounds), and has a diameter of over 12.5 meters (41 feet).
The origin of the name Maine is unclear. One theory is it was named after the French province of Maine. Another is that it derives from a practical nautical term, “the main” or “Main Land”, “Meyne” or “Mainland”, which served to distinguish the bulk of the state from its numerous islands.
The earliest culture known to have inhabited Maine, from roughly 3000 B.C. to 1000 B.C., were the Red Paint People, a maritime group known for elaborate burials using red ochre.
The first Europeans to explore the coast of Maine sailed under the command of the Portuguese explorer Estêvão Gomes, in service of the Spanish Empire, in 1525.
On March 15, 1820, Maine became America’s 23rd state.
The Ice Storm of 1998, which knocked out power to half of the state for more than two weeks in January and resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in damages, is considered to be one of the worst natural disasters in Maine’s history.
Maine is the most sparsely populated state east of the Mississippi River.
More than four-fifths of Maine’s total land area is under forest cover.
Maine’s coastline boasts so many deep harbors it is thought all the navies in the world could anchor in them.
Eastport is the easternmost city in the continental United States. Only slightly further east is the town of Lubec, Maine.
Maine is the biggest harvester of lobsters in the United States and accounts for about 50 percent of the country’s lobster supply. Now generally considered to be an expensive delicacy, lobsters were commonly fed to inmates and indentured servants, or ground up and used as fertilizer, during the colonial era.
Maine is the largest producer of wild blueberries in the world. Maine produces 99% of all the blueberries in the country.
90% of the country’s toothpick supply is produced in Maine.
Maine is the only state in the United States whose name has only one syllable.