The first inhabitants of the land now called Maine probably arrived about 12,000 years ago. Throughout the history of this land, Indian tribes such as the Malicite, Passacamoddy, Abenaki, and Penobscot have lived on this land. Viking explorer Leif Eriksson and his crew may have sailed to the area in 1000. About 600 years later, British and French colonists established some of the first permanent European settlements in Maine. In 1652, southwestern Maine became part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
In defiance of high British taxes, the people of Maine burned a shipment of British tea in 1774, a year after the Boston Tea Party. In response, British forces bombarded and burned Falmouth, Maine. After the Revolutionary War began in 1775, the people of Maine fought the first naval battle of the war. When the American Revolution ended, Maine joined the United States as part of Massachusetts. But many Manx settlers wanted their own state. In 1820, Maine seceded from Massachusetts, becoming the 23rd state in the union. This was done as part of the Missouri Compromise, an agreement that recognized Missouri as a state as well. Several Native American tribes still exist in Maine, including descendants of the original Passamaquoddy, Maliseet, and Penobscot tribes. Some historians believe that Maine’s name came from a nautical term for “mainland” or “main,” which the colony’s founders may have used to distinguish Maine from the islands off its coast. Or it could be named after the English village of the same name. Maine is nicknamed Pine Tree State after its many white pines, which are the largest eastern conifers (or cone-bearing evergreen trees) in the United States.
Geography of Maine
According to itypetravel.com, the largest state in New England, Maine is bordered by Canada to the north and east, the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and New Hampshire to the west. The land plot can be divided into three geographical areas. The coastal lowland begins at the Atlantic coast and extends 10 to 40 miles inland. The region has sandy beaches, salt marshes, bays, inlets, and thousands of offshore islands, the largest of which is Mount Desert Island. The islands started out as mountains, but rising sea levels during the last ice age brought them under water! Several islands in northern Maine are currently home to Acadia National Park. The Eastern Highlands of New England lies northwest of the Coastal Lowlands, an area of fertile soil, lakes, streams, and the Longfellow Mountains. The White Mountains are located in the northwest of the state and include Maine’s highest point, Mount Catahdin, as well as Baxter State Park.
Wildlife of Maine
In Maine, moose (the state animal), black bears, bobcats, white-tailed deer, and Canada lynx can be found. Bald eagles, ospreys, great gray owls and pink terns are just a few of the state’s many birds. Maine’s reptiles include northern red serpents, smooth green snakes, and eastern garter snakes. And amphibians such as oriental painted turtles, oriental red-backed salamanders and bull frogs live here. Maine is filled with black oaks, sugar maples, black walnuts and American elms, in addition to its white pines. Wildflowers grow in Maine, such as mountain tree sorrel, Canada violet, Queen Anne’s lace, and calypso orchid. But the state flower is not a flower at all – it is a cone!
AUGUST
Population: 19.136 thousand people (2010)
Area: 150.9 sq. km
Founded: 1754
City status since: 1849
Time zone: UTC-5, summer UTC-4
Altitude: 20 m
Augusta is the capital of Maine. Located on the Kennebec River in southern Maine, it is one of the three smallest state capitals in the United States. Nevertheless, this city is one of the oldest not only in New England, but throughout the country. See Maine cities.
European settlers arrived here, on the ancestral lands of the Abenaki Indians, in 1625. However, the settlement existed for a little over 30 years and was abandoned under the onslaught of the Indians. The second attempt dates back to 1754. There was a fort built that served as a supply base for the troops. In 1797, the town was renamed from Hollowell to Augusta (in honor of the daughter of Henry Dearborn, a well-known politician in those days). In 1820, Augusta became the capital of Maine, and the state legislature began to sit here on a permanent basis from 1832.
In Augusta, the oldest wooden fort in the United States has been preserved: the one from which the modern history of the city began – Fort Western. Other attractions are the Maine Capitol and the Blaine House (1832), which houses the residence of the state governor. The city is surrounded by lakes, where excellent conditions for country rest are created.
