Maine

Maine is one of the largest states in the Northeast, famous for its beautiful and rugged coastline. Officially, the coast is 230 miles long, but if you tried to hike along Maine's jagged shore, you would find yourself walking over 3000 miles! North of the coast, you'll find tall mountains, vast forests and thousands of lakes and streams. This sparsely populated wilderness is home to a tremendous variety of wildlife, including bobcat, black bear and moose. In summer, visitors to Maine enjoy the beaches and seafood on the coast, and in winter there is skiing in the snow-covered mountains. These features make Maine a popular vacation destination for millions of Americans.

Algonquin and Penobscot Indians lived in Maine for thousands of years, although there are few Native Americans left in Maine today. Viking explorers arrived on Maine's coast at the turn of the first millennium, and were eventually followed by English settlers in the 1600s. Part of the state of Massachusetts at the time of the American Revolution (1776), Maine became the 23rd state in 1820. For most of the nineteenth century, Maine was the leading producer of timber and fish in the United States and the state's vast natural resources continue to play an important role in its economy.

Maine's year-round population is concentrated in the southern part of the state. Portland, on the southern coast, is Maine's largest city and an excellent base for exploring the state. Points of interest in Maine include the historical sites in Portland, Acadia National Park on the northern coast, and the ski resorts near the Canadian border.