Acadia National Park

Acadia National Park
	Rocky coastline in winter
Location:	Maine , United States
Next city:	Bar Harbor
Surface:	198.6 km²
Founding:	January 19, 1929
Visitors:	3,537,575 (2018)
Address:	Acadia National Park; P.O. Box 177 ; Eagle Lake Road ; Bar Harbor, ME 04609-0177 ; Tel. (207) 288-3338
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The Acadia National Park on the coast of Maine in Hancock County is known for its rocky cliffs and rugged landscape of mountains and lakes. It is the only national park in New England and is one of the ten most visited national parks in the United States .

location

The park covers approximately 192 km² of Maine coastline. Most of the park is on Mount Desert Island (about 122 km²), smaller areas on the offshore Isle au Haut (11 km²) and the nearby Schoodic Peninsula (9.2 km²) as well as on many smaller islands.

Mount Desert Island is connected to the mainland by a short causeway, the nearest towns are Ellsworth and Bangor (in Penobscot County ). The park covers only part of the island, the rest is populated and has very high land prices due to the great surroundings.

To the northeast of Mount Desert Island is the old fishing port of Bar Harbor , the main town on the island and the entrance to the park.

landscape

The main attractions can be found along Park Loop Road in the eastern part of the island. Along the south-east coast you will find the characteristic rugged rocky coast that has been tossed by the surf.

Inland, the Jordan Pond lies in a landscape formed by the glaciers of the Ice Age . The highest mountain on the island, Cadillac Mountain (505 m above sea level), offers a view of the park from its treeless summit. It is also considered to be the first point in the United States to see sunrise.

Bass Harbor Head Light is located on the southwest tip of the island, near the village of Bass Harbor .

history

View from the Otter Cliffs

The first traces of human origin on the island go back more than 5000 years. After that, Indians from the Abenaki tribe lived on the island. In 1604, the French explorer Samuel de Champlain was the first European to describe the island. Since he had the impression that the relatively high mountains were free of vegetation, he named the island Isle des Monts Deserts , English Mount Desert Island .

For the next 150 years, the island was too unsafe to settle in the war between the French, British and Indians. British settlers did not settle here until 1761.

The island was finally discovered for tourism in the middle of the 19th century. The super-rich from nearby cities on the east coast, billionaires like John D. Rockefeller , Henry Ford and members of the Astor family bought land and turned the island into a place of luxury and society.

But it is also thanks to them that the park was created: A group led by John D. Rockefeller and Charles William Eliot , President of Harvard University, bought land from 1901 in order to protect it. On January 16, 1916, the park was established as Sieur de Monts National Monument and donated to the state on the condition that a protected area be established. On February 26, 1919, Congress declared the area Lafayette National Park (after the French supporter of American independence, Marquis de Lafayette ), then the only one east of the Mississippi River . On January 19, 1929, the park was renamed Acadia National Park .

Today, with over 3.5 million visitors (2018), the park is one of the ten most visited national parks due to its proximity to the metropolises on the east coast.

literature

Bass Harbor Lighthouse, located right in the park.

Jerry Monkman, among others: Discover Acadia National Park. A Guide to Hiking, Biking, and Paddling. Appalachian Mountain Club, Old Saybrook 2000, ISBN 1-878239-92-9
Jay Kaiser et al: Acadia Revealed. Papyrus Travel Guides, Northeast Harbor 2000, ISBN 0-9678904-9-7

Web links

Commons : Acadia National Park - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files

National Park Service: Acadia National Park (official site; English)
US National Parks Net: Acadia National Park (English)
American Park Network: Acadia National Park (English)