Maine, the northeasternmost U.S. state, is known for its rocky coastline, maritime history and nature areas like the granite and spruce islands of Acadia National Park. Moose are plentiful in Baxter State Park, home to Mt. Katahdin, endpoint of the Appalachian Trail. Lighthouses such as the candy-striped beacon at West Quoddy Head, dot the coast, as do lobster shacks and sandy beaches like Ogunquit and Old Orchard.
For thousands of years after the glaciers retreated during the last Ice Age, indigenous peoples were the only inhabitants of the territory that is now Maine. At the time of European arrival, several Algonquian-speaking peoples inhabited the area. The first European settlement in the area was by the French in 1604 on Saint Croix Island, founded by Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons. The first English settlement was the short-lived Popham Colony, established by the Plymouth Company in 1607. A number of English settlements were established along the coast of Maine in the 1620s, although the rugged climate and conflict with the local indigenous people caused many to fail.
Capital: Augusta, ME
Population: 1,328,361 (2020)
Official Website: https://www.maine.gov/
Tourism website: https://visitmaine.com/
Tourist Attractions for Maine:
Few states can claim as many iconic images as Maine. Think of that northern New England state, and immediately springing to mind are fully rigged Windjammers, waves breaking against a rocky coast, fishing harbors filled with colorful boats, lighthouses, and tall pine trees. The miles and miles of backwoods inhabited by moose hold their own mystique, conjuring images of a lone canoe barely riffling the mirror-like surface of a forest-encircled lake, or rainbow trout jumping from crystal waters.
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- Acadia National Park
- The Old Port and Portland Head Lighthouse
- Marginal Way and Ogunquit Beaches
- Pemaquid Point Light
- Old Orchard Beach
- Farnsworth Art Museum
- Nubble Lighthouse (Cape Neddick Light)
- Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens and Boothbay Harbor
- Maine Maritime Museum
- West Quoddy Head
- Portland Museum of Art
- Cruising the Maine Coast
- Victoria Mansion, Portland
- Monhegan Island
- Kennebunkport
- Bowdoin College Museum of Art