Acadia National Park is a
National Park located in the U.S. state of
MaineMaine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
. It reserves much of
Mount Desert IslandMount Desert Island , in Hancock County, Maine, is the largest island off the coast of Maine. With an area of it is the 6th largest island in the contiguous United States. Though it is often claimed to be the third largest island on the eastern seaboard of the United States, it is actually second...
, and associated smaller islands, off the
Atlantic coastThe Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
. Originally created as
Lafayette National Park in 1919, the first National Park East of the Mississippi, it was renamed Acadia in 1929.
History
The area first was inhabited by the
WabanakiWabanaki, Wabenaki, Wobanaki, etc. may refer to:In geography* area referred as the "Dawn land" by many Algonquian-speaking peoples to describe the Eastern region of the North American continent, generally described as being New England in the United States, plus Quebec and the Maritimes in CanadaIn...
people.
In the fall of 1604,
Samuel de ChamplainSamuel de Champlain , "The Father of New France", was a French navigator, cartographer, draughtsman, soldier, explorer, geographer, ethnologist, diplomat, and chronicler. He founded New France and Quebec City on July 3, 1608....
observed a high-notched island composed of seven or eight mountains rising to bare-rock summits from slopes of birch, fir, and pine. In spite of many changes over nearly 400 years, the area remains essentially the same.
Beginnings
The landscape architect Charles Elliot is credited with the idea for the park. It first attained federal status when President
Woodrow WilsonThomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
, established it as Sieur de Monts National Monument on July 8, 1916, administered by the National Park Service. On February 26, 1919, it became a national park, with the name Lafayette National Park in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette, an influential French supporter of the American Revolution. The park's name was changed to Acadia National Park on January 19, 1929.
From 1915 to 1933, the wealthy philanthropist
John D. Rockefeller, Jr.John Davison Rockefeller, Jr. was a major philanthropist and a pivotal member of the prominent Rockefeller family. He was the sole son among the five children of businessman and Standard Oil industrialist John D. Rockefeller and the father of the five famous Rockefeller brothers...
financed, designed, and directed the construction of a network of carriage trails throughout the park. He sponsored the landscape architect
Beatrix FarrandBeatrix Jones Farrand was a landscape gardener and landscape architect in the United States. Her career included commissions to design the gardens for private residences, estates and country homes, public parks, botanic gardens, college campuses, and the White House.Farrand was one of the founding...
, with the nearby family summer home
Reef Point EstateReef Point Estate is located in Bar Harbor, Maine, USA, on Mount Desert Island. Reef Point was the coastal “cottage” of Mary Cadwalder Rawle and Frederic Rhinelander Jones, the parents of landscape architect, Beatrix Farrand .-Reef Point:...
, to design the planting plans for the subtle carriage roads at the Park (c.1930). The network encompassed over 50 miles (80.5 km) of gravel carriage trails, 17 granite bridges, and two gate lodges, almost all of which are still maintained and in use today. Cut granite stones placed along the edges of the carriage roads act as guard rails of sort and are locally known as "coping stones" to help visitors cope with the steep edges. They are also fondly called "Rockefeller's teeth".
Fire of 1947
On October 17, 1947, 10000 acres (40.5 km²) of Acadia National Park were burned in a fire that began along the Crooked Road several miles west of Hulls Cove. The forest fire was one of a series of fires that consumed much of Maine's forest as a result of a dry year. The fire burned for days and was fought by the Coast Guard, Army, Navy, local residents, and National Park Service employees from around the country. Restoration of the park was supported, substantially, by the Rockefeller family, particularly John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Regrowth was mostly allowed to occur naturally and the fire has been suggested to have actually enhanced the beauty of the park, adding diversity to tree populations and depth to its scenery.
Centennial Initiative Project
The National Park Service, as part of their Centennial Initiative celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2016, created a project to promote voluntary, multimodal park access for present and future generations. Going “car free” offers visitors the opportunity to explore Acadia by foot, bicycle, shuttle bus, commercial tour bus, private automobile, or private and commercial vessels. The project includes an inter-modal transportation center on state-owned land four miles (6 km) north of the park, multiple-use trails to connect gateway communities with the park, and rehabilitation of historic carriage roads surrounding Eagle Lake.
Terrain and features
The park includes
mountainImage:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
s, an ocean shoreline,
woodlandEcologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
s, and
lakeA lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
s. In addition to Mount Desert Island, the park comprises much of the
Isle au HautIsle au Haut is a town in Knox County, Maine, United States, on an island of the same name in Penobscot Bay. The population was 79 at the 2000 census. Home to portions of Acadia National Park, Isle au Haut is accessible by mailboat from Stonington.-History:Native Americans left behind shell mounds...
, parts of Baker Island, and a portion of the
Schoodic PeninsulaThe Schoodic Peninsula is a peninsula in Down East Maine. It is located four miles east of Bar Harbor, Maine, as the crow flies. The Schoodic Peninsula contains , or approximately 5%, of Acadia National Park. It includes the towns of Gouldsboro and Winter Harbor. The peninsula has a rocky...
on the
mainlandMainland is a name given to a large landmass in a region , or to the largest of a group of islands in an archipelago. Sometimes its residents are called "Mainlanders"...
.
In total, Acadia National Park consists of more than 47,000 acres (73 square miles, 190 km
2), including 30,300 acres (47 sq mi., 123 km
2) on Mount Desert Island, 2,728 acres (4.6 sq mi., 11 km
2) on Isle au Haut and 2,366 acres (3.5 sq mi., 9.2 km
2) on the Schoodic Peninsula.
Cadillac MountainCadillac Mountain is a mountain located on Mount Desert Island, within Acadia National Park. With an elevation of , its summit is the highest point in Hancock County, and the highest within of a coastline on the U.S. East Coast as well as down to the Yucatán Peninsula.-History:Before being renamed...
, named after the
French Explorer of the same nameAntoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac was a French explorer and adventurer in New France, now an area of North America stretching from Eastern Canada in the north to Louisiana in the south. Rising from a modest beginning in Acadia in 1683 as an explorer, trapper, and a trader of alcohol...
, is on the eastern side of the island. Its green, lichen-covered, pink granite summit is, because of a combination of its eastern location and height, one of the first places in the United States to see the sunrise. Miles of carriage roads were originally built by Rockefeller, Jr. The mountains of Acadia National Park offer hikers and bicycle riders views of the ocean, island lakes, and pine forests.
The inlet
Somes SoundSomes Sound is a body of water running deep into Mount Desert Island, the main site of Acadia National Park in Maine, United States. Its deepest point is approximately , and it is over deep in several places. The sound almost splits the island in two...
, often described as the "only
fjordGeologically, a fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity.-Formation:A fjord is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by abrasion of the surrounding bedrock. Glacial melting is accompanied by rebound of Earth's crust as the ice...
on the
East CoastThe East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
", is now called a
fjardA fjard, also spelled as “fiard,” is an inlet formed by the marine submergence of formerly glaciated valleys and depressions within a rocky glaciated terrain of low relief. Fjards are characterized by a profile that is shorter, shallower, and broader than the profile of a fjord...
by officials
Wildlife
The park is home to some 40 different species of mammalian wildlife. Among these are red and gray
squirrelSquirrels belong to a large family of small or medium-sized rodents called the Sciuridae. The family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots , flying squirrels, and prairie dogs. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa and have been introduced to Australia...
s,
chipmunkChipmunks are small striped squirrels native to North America and Asia. They are usually classed either as a single genus with three subgenera, or as three genera.-Etymology and taxonomy:...
s,
white-tailed deerThe white-tailed deer , also known as the Virginia deer or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States , Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru...
,
mooseThe moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...
, beaver (
Castor canadensis),
porcupinePorcupines are rodents with a coat of sharp spines, or quills, that defend or camouflage them from predators. They are indigenous to the Americas, southern Asia, and Africa. Porcupines are the third largest of the rodents, behind the capybara and the beaver. Most porcupines are about long, with...
,
muskratThe muskrat , the only species in genus Ondatra, is a medium-sized semi-aquatic rodent native to North America, and introduced in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands and is a very successful animal over a wide range of climates and habitats...
s,
foxFox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
es,
coyoteThe coyote , also known as the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...
,
bobcatThe bobcat is a North American mammal of the cat family Felidae, appearing during the Irvingtonian stage of around 1.8 million years ago . With twelve recognized subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to northern Mexico, including most of the continental United States...
s, and
black bearThe American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most common bear species. Black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in...
s. Many other marine species have been observed in the surrounding area and waters.
Excavations of old Indian sites in the Mount Desert Island region have yielded remains of the native mammals. Bones of wolf, beaver, deer, elk, Gray seal (
Halichoerus grypus), the
Indian dogIndian dog may refer to:* Dhole of India, also known as the Indian Wild Dog, Cuon alpinus* Hare Indian dog, an extinct dog breed originally kept by the Hare Indians of Canada...
, and
Sea MinkThe Sea Mink, Neovison macrodon, is an extinct North American member of the family Mustelidae. It is the only mustelid, and one of only two terrestrial mammal species in the order Carnivora, to become extinct in historic times . The body of the sea mink was significantly longer than that of the...
(
Neovison macrodon), as well as large numbers of raccoon, lynx, wolf, muskrat, and deer. Although beaver were trapped to extinction on the island, two pairs of beaver that were released in 1920 by George B. Dorr at the brook between Bubble Pond and Eagle Lake have repopulated it. The large fire in 1947 cleared the eastern half of the island of its coniferous trees and permitted the growth of aspen, birch, alder, maple and other deciduous trees which enabled the beaver to thrive.
Species that used to inhabit the island include the mountain lion (or puma) and the
gray wolfThe gray wolf , also known as the wolf, is the largest extant wild member of the Canidae family...
. It is thought that these predators have been forced to leave the area due to the dramatic decrease in small prey and proximity to human activity.
See also
- Nearby towns
- Bar Harbor, Maine
Bar Harbor is a town on Mount Desert Island in Hancock County, Maine, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population is 5,235. Bar Harbor is a famous summer colony in the Down East region of Maine. It is home to the College of the Atlantic, Jackson Laboratory and Mount Desert Island...
- Southwest Harbor, Maine
Southwest Harbor is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. Located on Mount Desert Island, the population was 1,966 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
- Northeast Harbor, Maine
Northeast Harbor is a village on Mount Desert Island, located in the town of Mount Desert in Hancock County, Maine, United States. The village has a significant summer population, and has long been a quiet enclave of the rich and famous. Summer residents include the Rockefeller family, as well as...
- Tremont, Maine
Tremont is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. It is located on the southwestern side of Mount Desert Island, known to locals as "the quietside."...
- Bass Harbor Head Light
Bass Harbor Head Light is a lighthouse located within Acadia National Park on the southeast corner of Mount Desert Island, Maine, marking the entrance to Bass Harbor and Blue Hill Bay.-History:...
External links
- Acadia National Park (National Park Service official website)
- http://zeitcam.com/webcam/acadia - Daily time-lapse animations of a webcam in the park