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Maine is the only state to border exactly one other American state (New Hampshire). Approximately half the area of Maine lies on each side of the 45th parallel north in latitude. Maine is the easternmost state in the United States both in its extreme points and in its geographic center.
- Bangor
Bangor (/ ˈ b æ ŋ ɡ ɔːr / BANG-gor) is a city in and the...
- Portland
Portland (/ ˈ p ɔːr t l ə n d / PORT-lənd) is the most...
- Augusta
Augusta (/ ə ˈ ɡ ʌ s t ə / ə-GUSS-tə) is the capital of the...
- List of Counties in Maine
This is a list of the 16 counties in the U.S. state of...
- List of United States Senators From Maine
Maine was admitted to the Union on March 15, 1820. The...
- List of Municipalities in Maine
Maine is a state located in the Northeastern United...
- List of High Schools in Maine
This is a list of high schools in the state of Maine....
- Maine House of Representatives
The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the...
- Janet Mills
Janet Trafton Mills (born December 30, 1947) is an American...
- District of Maine
The District of Maine was the governmental designation for...
- Bangor
- Overview
- Relief
- Drainage and soils
- Climate
Maine, constituent state of the United States of America. The largest of the six New England states in area, it lies at the northeastern corner of the country. Its total area, including about 2,300 square miles (6,000 square km) of inland water, represents nearly half of the total area of New England. Maine is bounded to the northwest and northeast by the Canadian provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick, respectively, and to the west by New Hampshire. The famed rocky coastline of the state is angled from southwest to northeast along the Atlantic Ocean. Maine was admitted to the union on March 15, 1820, as the 23rd state; its capital is Augusta. The Algonquian-speaking peoples inhabiting the region called it “Land of the Frozen Ground,” and there are two theories of the derivation of the state’s English name: that it was named for the former French province of Maine and that it was so named for being the “mainland,” as opposed to the coastal islands.
Maine is the most sparsely populated state east of the Mississippi River. More than four-fifths of its total land area is under forest cover. By most statistical measures Maine is an economically depressed state, yet the rugged beauty and challenge of its climate and landscape and the character of its people have given Maine an importance beyond its economic and political power. Limited economic growth has contributed to the preservation of much of its natural appearance. Since 1970, however, one-third of the state’s southern coastal counties have recorded accelerating growth rates, increased residential and commercial construction, and increased revenues. Maine’s economy has become increasingly dependent on services, while the traditional industry, the manufacture of paper and paper products, has declined. Fishing, forestry, mining, and agriculture comprise the second most important sector. The state thus epitomizes the increasingly difficult national choices between preservation of environmental quality and potential economic expansion. Area 35,380 square miles (91,634 square km). Population (2020) 1,362,359; (2023 est.) 1,395,722.
The Appalachian mountain chain extends into Maine from New Hampshire, terminating in the north-central part of the state at Mount Katahdin—at 5,268 feet (1,606 metres) Maine’s tallest peak. Quoddy Head, near Lubec, is the easternmost point in the country. Caribou is the country’s northeasternmost city. The western and northwestern borders adjoining New Hampshire and Quebec have the most rugged terrain, with numerous glacier-scoured peaks, lakes, and narrow valleys. South and east of the mountain areas lie rolling hills and smaller mountains and the broad valleys of the Saco, Androscoggin, Kennebec, and Penobscot rivers.
From Kittery, at the southern tip of the state, to Cape Elizabeth, just southwest of the state’s largest city, Portland, long sand beaches are interrupted intermittently by rocky promontories. From Cape Elizabeth to Rockland, the coastline of Maine is a series of peninsulas, narrow estuaries, bays, fjords, and coves—once glacier-covered mountains and valleys now partially submerged in the post-Ice Age rise in sea level. The coast from Rockland to Washington county consists of bays and islands, as well as interior hills. The eastern region is commonly referred to as “Downeast” (sometimes styled “Down East”), an area often shrouded in fog. The Camden Hills and the peaks of Mount Desert Island are the largest of the coastal mountains. The tides along this famous rockbound coast are among the strongest in the world, running between 12 and 24 feet (3.7 and 7.3 metres). Off the coast of the state lie about 1,200 islands, some no more than rocky ledges, others topped with trees and sheltering the homes of fishermen, lobstermen, and summer residents. All told, the coast of Maine—including the bays, inlets, and river estuaries—totals some 3,500 miles (5,600 km).
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Most of Maine’s river systems flow from north to south. Northern Maine is a dissected upland drained by north-flowing streams. The St. John River and its principal tributary, the Allagash, are the major exceptions, flowing north and then east along the northern border of Maine and turning south through New Brunswick, Can., to the Bay of Fundy. The state is dotted with 2,500 lakes and ponds, the largest of which is Moosehead Lake (116 square miles [300 square km]).
Soils in Maine are classified as ashy gray, acidic spodosols. In southwestern Maine, soils were formed primarily from granite; coastal, central, and eastern soils are composed of shale, sand, and limestone. The soils of Aroostook county, in the northeast, which are among the most productive in the state, are largely composed of Caribou loam, a rich soil ideal for growing potatoes.
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Maine has three well-defined climatic zones: central, southern interior, and northern. Although all are classified as humid continental, small differences exist among regions. The southern and coastal regions are influenced by air masses from the south and west. North of the land dividing the St. John and Penobscot river basins, air masses moving d...
Jan 18, 2024 · The State of Maine is located in the north-eastern (New England) region of the United States. Maine is bordered by the state of New Hampshire in the west; by the Atlantic Ocean in the southeast and by the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick in the northeast and by Quebec in the northwest.
Jan 9, 2020 · Published January 9, 2020 at 7:00 AM EST. Listen • 52:53. https://www.mainememory.net/artifact/153. This year marks the bicentennial of Maine as a state. We preview some of the upcoming events during the state’s yearlong celebration of this 200th birthday and learn how Maine became a state.
- English colonists led by George Popham established Fort St. George in Maine in 1607, the same year Jamestown, Virginia, was founded. Overwhelmed by the harsh climate and left leaderless after Popham’s death, the colonists returned to England a year later—resulting in Jamestown being regarded as the first permanent colony in North America.
- Agamenticus was the first city to be chartered in the United States in 1641. In 1642, it was renamed Gorgeana and incorporated as the first city. When the Massachusetts Bay Colony annexed southwestern Maine in 1652, Gorgeana was reincorporated as York.
- Due to a long stretch of drought-like conditions that began in the summer of 1947, a series of subsequent fires destroyed more than 200,000 acres in what became known as “the year Maine burned.”
- 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.
Quick Facts. Capital City: Agusta. Abbreviation: ME. Population (2019): 1,344,212; Rank: 42 of 50 | Population Quick Facts. Region: Northeast. Admission to Statehood: March 15, 1820 (23rd State) State Motto: Dirigo. State Nickname: Pine Tree State.
Mar 15, 2019 · Maine's long rocky Atlantic Coast is known for its frigid waters and an ample fishery – most famed for the Maine lobster. The state also is known for more than 40,000 acres of wild blueberries . 7.
