Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Along the Down East coast the endless surge of the briny Atlantic scours
rocky shores or rhythmically thumps Southern Maine's miles of fine
sandy beaches. The state's 30 lighthouses stand guard along more than
3,000 miles of coastline. Here, on almost any day, the capricious fog plays
hide and seek with all your senses.
This topic is not designed to be the be-all and end-all guide, a metaphori-
cal holding of your hand if you wish, to reach a specific Maine destination.
Rather, think of it as a resource to jump-start the journey. While the ma-
jor byways and even many of the roads seldom traveled are mentioned,
there are still plenty of people, places, and diversions awaiting discovery.
After all, you can't call a trip an adventure if everything goes according to
plan. Pick a date, pick a road, pick a trail and let the fun begin.
Is Maine then, in fact, the end of the line? Many - artist, industrialist,
farmer, fisherman - have found inspiration in the state's great natural
beauty, a grounding in its history and a spiritual kinship with its proud,
independent people. But it has often proved also to be a new beginning.
Maine then, is perhaps paradoxically both the end of the line and a place
of beginnings. What better place then to find adventure?
A Land of Fire & Ice
M
aine is a landscape literally born both of fire and ice. Titanic forces
from deep within the earth have forced mountains of magma
through the earth's crust to create the massive rock “plutons” of granite
that form most of the state's ancient mountain ranges.
Elsewhere, ridges of dark slate and rugged hills of schist and basalt
formed tough barriers for the earliest settlers to cross.
While legend and myth may try to link some mountains in Maine directly
to volcanoes, there is no one peak that can clearly be said to be the rem-
nants of a central cone. Still, many of the state's more distinctive hills,
such as Mount Kineo and Big Spencer near Moosehead Lake, are volca-
nic in origin, composed largely of dense volcanic rock that is even tougher
than granite. This landscape has been carved and worked by eons of ice
and the slow, steady, wearing action of swift streams and rivers.
Minerals
Throughout the state those with a careful eye can discern “veins” of ba-
salt which was forced up in a molten state into cracks in the overburden.
Maine is not considered a mineral-rich state. Except for limestone quarry
operations for cement processing there are no commercial mining ven-
