Introduction to Geography of Maine
Maine, one of the New England states of the United States. It is bounded on the north by the Canadian provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick, on the east by New Brunswick, on the south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the southwest and west by New Hampshire, and on the northwest by Quebec. West Quoddy Head, a peninsula near the New Brunswick border, is the easternmost point of the United States. Among the states Maine ranks 39th in area with 35,387 square miles (91,653 km 2), including 4,523 square miles (11,714 km 2) of inland water.
Maine's state bird is the chickadee.Maine in briefGeneral informationStatehood: March 15, 1820, the 23rd state.State abbreviations: Me. (traditional); ME (postal).State capital: Augusta, Maine's capital since 1832. Portland served as capital from 1820 to 1832.State motto: Dirigo (I Direct or I Guide).Popular name: The Pine Tree State.State song: "State of Maine Song." Words and music by Roger Vinton Snow.Symbols of MaineState bird: Chickadee.State flower: White pine cone and tassel.State tree: White pine.State flag and seal: Maine's state flag, adopted in 1909, has the state seal on a blue background. The state seal, adopted in 1820, has a farmer with a scythe that represents agriculture. A seaman leaning on an anchor stands for commerce and fishing. These figures support a shield that displays a pine tree and a moose. The pine represents Maine's forests, and the moose symbolizes the state's undisturbed wildlife areas. At the top, the North Star represents Maine's northern location.Land and climateArea: 33,128 mi2 (85,801 km2), including 2,263 mi2 (5,862 km2) of inland water but excluding 613 mi2 (1,587 km2) of coastal water.Elevation: Highest--Mount Katahdin, 5,267 ft (1,606 m) above sea level. Lowest--sea level along the coast.Coastline: 228 mi (367 km).Record high temperature: 105 degrees F (41 degrees C) at North Bridgton on July 10, 1911.Record low temperature: –48 degrees F (–44 degrees C) at Van Buren on Jan. 19, 1925.Average July temperature: 67 degrees F (19 degrees C).Average January temperature: 15 degrees F (–9 degrees C).Average yearly precipitation: 41 in. (104 cm).PeoplePopulation: 1,274,923.Rank among the states: 40th.Density: 38 per mi2 (15 per km2), U.S. average 78 per mi2 (30 per km2).Distribution: 60 percent rural, 40 percent urban.Largest cities in Maine: Portland (64,249); Lewiston (35,690); Bangor (31,473); South Portland (23,324); Auburn (23,203); Brunswick (21,172).EconomyChief productsAgriculture: eggs, milk, potatoes.Fishing industry: clams, crabs, lobsters.Manufacturing: computer and electronic products, fabricated metal products, food products, leather products, paper products, transportation equipment, wood products.Mining: sand and gravel.GovernmentState governmentGovernor: 4-year term.State senators: 35; 2-year terms.State representatives: 151; 2-year terms.Counties: 16.Federal governmentUnited States senators: 2.United States representatives: 2.Electoral votes: 4.Sources of informationFor information about tourism, write to: Maine Office of Tourism, 59 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04335. The Web site at http://www.visit.maine.com also provides information.For information on the economy, write to: Maine Department of Economic and Community Development, 59 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333. The state's official Web site at http://www.maine.gov also provides a gateway to much information on Maine's economy, government, and history.Physical Geography
Maine is one of the New England states that lie in the northeastern United States.Maine occupies the northern part of the Appalachian Highlands regions of the United States. Its physical features were greatly modified by continental glaciers more than 10,000 years ago. The ice sheets eroded and smoothed the hills and in places leveled the land. On receding, they dammed rivers, created lakes, and left widespread debris in such forms as moraines, eskers, and drumlins.
LandMaine divides into three major regions: the Seaboard Lowland, Longfellow Mountains, and New England Upland.
The Seaboard Lowland is a low-lying region with occasional hills along the Atlantic Coast. It is a rocky and drowned coast, one where the sea has inundated valleys and created hundreds of islands out of former hilltops. In many places the islands extend one after the other far out to sea. Deep estuaries extend well inland and sometimes alternate with bold, rocky headlands. Some of the coast's finest scenery is preserved in Acadia National Park.
The Longfellow Mountains area has low, rounded mountains extending from the White Mountains of New Hampshire northeastward across much of the state. The region lacks the bold relief usually associated with mountainous areas, and peaks are often widely separated. Mount Katahdin, Maine's highest peak, rises to 5,267 feet (1,605 m) above sea level. The other major summits are between 3,000 and 4,200 feet (910 to 1,280 m).
The New England Upland, the largest region, includes the rest of the state. It is a rolling plateau dotted by numerous hills and low mountains. Some sections, notably the Aroostook Plain in the northeast, are relatively flat.
Maine's state tree is the white pine.Water
Maine has more than 2,500 glacial lakes, many of which are called ponds locally. The largest is Moosehead Lake (117 square miles [303 km 2]). Rangeley Lakes, including Rangeley, Mooselookmeguntic, and Richardson lakes, form a chain in the west. Others of significance include Chesuncook, Chamberlain, Pemadumcook, Flagstaff, and Sebago lakes. Marshy land is widespread.
Five large rivers drain the state: the St. John in the north and the St. Croix, Penobscot, Kennebec, and Androscoggin in the center and south. All ultimately drain southward to the Atlantic. Rivers are of particular economic importance for they can produce large amounts of hydroelectric power.
The general coastline measures 228 miles (367 km). However, counting all tidal shoreland along the rugged coast the total is 3,478 miles (5,597 km)—one of the longest of any state. Principal bays, all with excellent harbors, include Casco, Muscongus, Penobscot, Blue Hill, Frenchman, Pleasant, Englishman, and Machias bays. Tides in some bays are exceptionally high.
ClimateMaine has a continental type of climate similar to that of all the northeastern states. The chief differences stem mainly from the influence of the ocean. Summers in Maine are cooler than those in the interior of the country. Average temperatures vary from 62° to 66° F. (17° to 19° C.), the coolest section being the eastern part of the coast. Rarely is summer excessively hot. Winters are cold. Average January temperatures range from about 10° F. (-12° C.) in the north to 24° F. (-4° C.) in the south. Maine's growing season lasts roughly 100 to 160 days.
Precipitation is abundant during all seasons and ranges from 34 to 46 inches (860 to 1,170 mm) annually, depending on location. Except along the coast, snow generally blankets Maine all winter long. The heaviest snowfalls come from storms called northeasters. Fog often occurs, especially along the coast.
Maine's state flower is the white pine cone and tassel.Interesting facts about MaineThe first earmuffs were patented by Chester Greenwood of Farmington on March 13, 1877. Greenwood invented his first pair in 1873, when he was 15 years old. He later mass-produced earmuffs in his Farmington factory. Farmington, once known as the Earmuff Capital of the World, observes a Chester Greenwood Day each winter.The most easterly point of land in the continental United States is West Quoddy Head, a small peninsula near Lubec.The first person to win a Pulitzer Prize for poetry, Edwin Arlington Robinson, was born in Head Tide and grew up in Gardiner. Robinson won his first Pulitzer Prize in 1922 for Collected Poems. He later won two more Pulitzer Prizes--for The Man Who Died Twice in 1925 and for Tristram in 1928.Camp Fire Girls originated in Sebago Lake in 1910. Luther Halsey Gulick, a national leader in recreational programs for young people, and his wife, Charlotte Vetter Gulick, founded the organization. In 1975, the organization began admitting boys. Today, it is known as Camp Fire Boys and Girls.More wooden toothpicks are produced in Maine than in any other state. Manufacturers use white birch to make toothpicks.Economy
The Maine quarter features images of a lighthouse on a granite coast and of a schooner. The lighthouse is the Pemaquid Point Light, on the Atlantic coast. Granite is a common feature of Maine’s coastline. The schooner resembles one of Maine’s famous windjammers (sailing ships).Maine's economy relies heavily on the state's natural resources, chiefly forests and rich coastal fisheries, which are the basis of major industries such as fishing, shipbuilding, and the manufacture of wood and paper products. These include cardboard boxes, paper bags, and pulp, as well as paper. Paper products are Maine's leading manufactured products. Important paper and pulp mills, sawmills and lumber camps operate in most of Maine's counties.
The state also manufactures transportation and aerospace equipment. In addition, food processing is another leading manufacturing activity in Maine. Canned and frozen foods are among the chief food products. Frozen fish and frozen potato products bring in much income. Maine's food processing plants packs apples, blueberries, cranberries, raspberries and strawberries, and lobsters to other states. Apples are Maine's most valuable fruit crop. The state also processes baked goods, dairy products, and meat products.
Livestock products, particularly eggs and milk, make up about 60 per cent of Maine's income from agriculture. Maine farms, which number about 7,100, also raise beef cattle, chickens, hogs, sheep, and turkeys. The most valuable farm crop in the state is potatoes. Maine also grows oats, corn, hay, and other grains, as well as beans, peas, pumpkins, squash, and other vegetables.
The state's annual lobster catch is the largest of any state. Maine ranks high among states in quantity of fish and shellfish caught. It also has a high yield of soft-shell clams, mussels, crabs, cod, flounder, haddock, salmon and other fish.
Government, wholesale and retail trade, and service industries provide jobs for a large share of the labor force. Portland and Lewiston are the chief centers of business and industry. In addition, tourism has become an important activity; attractions include colorful autumn foliage, coastal scenery, and picturesque fishing towns.
Maine has many granite, limestone, copper and zinc deposits, but few are mined. Some products that are mined in the state include the gemstone tourmaline, slate, brick clay, garnet, peat, portland cement, sand and gravel, and stone.
Annual events in MaineJanuary-JuneWinter activities in Bethel, Carrabassett Valley, Greenville, Jackman, Kingfield, Rangeley, and other places (January and February); Moosemainea in Greenville (May-June); Windjammer Days at Boothbay Harbor (June).July-DecemberClam Festival in Yarmouth (July); Belfast Bay Festival in Belfast (July); Maine Potato Blossom Festival in Fort Fairfield (July); Maine Lobster Festival in Rockland (August); Machias Wild Blueberry Festival (August); Retired Skippers Race in Castine (August); Fairs in Cumberland Center, Farmington, Fryeburg, Presque Isle, Topsham, Union, Unity, and Windsor (various times during the summer and in early autumn).Governer of Maine
Government
Maine's State Capitol is in Augusta, the capital since 1832.Maine is governed under its original Constitution of 1819, adopted about three months before Maine became a state. The governor is the chief executive of the state. The governor is elected by the people and serves a four-year term. The governor may serve any number of terms but not more than two in a row. Maine has no lieutenant governor. The Maine Legislature consists of two houses: a 35-member Senate and a 151-member House of Representatives. Senators and representatives are elected to two-year terms in even-numbered years, and are limited to serving four terms in a row. The Legislature elects the attorney general, secretary of state, and state treasurer to two-year terms. They cannot serve more than four terms in a row. The Legislature also elects the state auditor, who serves a four-year term, and not more than two terms in succession.
Maine's highest court is the Supreme Judicial Court. The court has a chief justice and six associate justices. The state's Superior Court handles all cases requiring trial by jury and all cases appealed from lower courts. Maine also has District courts and probate courts.
Maine's 22 cities all have home rule, which means each city may adopt a charter or revise it without approval of the Legislature. Most cities have a mayor-council form of government. Most of the state's 470 towns have a town-meeting form of government. Others hire a manager.
Governors of MaineNamePartyTermWilliam KingDemocratic1820-1821William D. Williamson Democratic1821Benjamin Ames Democratic1821-1822Albion K. Parris Democratic1822-1827Enoch Lincoln Democratic1827-1829Nathan Cutler Democratic1829-1830Joshua Hall Democratic1830Jonathan Hunton National Republican1830-1831Samuel E. Smith Democratic1831-1834Robert Dunlap Democratic1834-1838Edward Kent Whig1838-1839John Fairfield Democratic1839-1841Edward Kent Whig1841-1842John Fairfield Democratic1842-1843Edward Kavanagh Democratic1843-1844Hugh J. Anderson Democratic1844-1847John W. Dana Democratic1847-1850John Hubbard Democratic1850-1853William G. Crosby Whig1853-1855Anson P. Morrill Republican1855-1856Samuel Wells Democratic1856-1857Hannibal HamlinRepublican1857Joseph H. Williams Republican1857-1858Lot M. Morrill Republican1858-1861Israel Washburn, Jr. Republican1861-1863Abner Coburn Republican1863-1864Samuel Cony Republican1864-1867Joshua L. Chamberlain Republican1867-1871Sidney Perham Republican1871-1874Nelson Dingley, Jr. Republican1874-1876Seldon Connor Republican1876-1879Alonzo Garcelon Democratic1879-1880Daniel F. Davis Republican1880-1881Harris M. Plaisted Democratic1881-1883Frederick Robie Republican1883-1887Joseph R. Bodwell Republican1887S. S. Marble Republican1887-1889Edwin C. Burleigh Republican1889-1893Henry B. Cleaves Republican1893-1897Llewellyn Powers Republican1897-1901John Fremont Hill Republican1901-1905William T. Cobb Republican1905-1909Bert M. Fernald Republican1909-1911Frederick W. Plaisted Democratic1911-1913William T. Haines Republican1913-1915Oakley C. Curtis Democratic1915-1917Carl E. Milliken Republican1917-1921Frederic H. Parkhurst Republican1921Percival P. Baxter Republican1921-1925Ralph Owen Brewster Republican1925-1929William Tudor Gardiner Republican1929-1933Louis J. Brann Democratic1933-1937Lewis O. Barrows Republican1937-1941Sumner Sewall Republican1941-1945Horace A. Hildreth Republican1945-1949Frederick G. Payne Republican1949-1952Burton M. Cross Republican1952-1955Edmund Sixtus MuskieDemocratic1955-1959Robert Haskell Republican1959Clinton Clauson Democratic1959John H. Reed Republican1959-1967Kenneth M. Curtis Democratic1967-1975James B. Longley Independent1975-1979Joseph E. Brennan Democratic1979-1987John R. McKernan, Jr. Republican1987-1995Angus King Independent1995-2003John Baldacci Democratic2003-