Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
company mined peat on nearby Denbo Heath along the Narraguagus
River. The peat was dried and burned to generate electricity.
The Sea
T
he other great “hand” that has worked the face of Maine's landscape
is the sea. The state has more than 3,500 miles of coastline and 6,200
offshore islands.
INTERESTING FACT:
Researchers have discovered
that Maine's rugged coastline is longer than origi-
nally thought - about 600 miles longer, in fact. The
latest information provided by Geographic Informa-
tion System (GIS) computers puts the length, when all
island shores are included, at 5,500 miles.
All along the state's coastline the relentless waters of the Atlantic scour
away the rocks, creating the prominent headlands and pocket rocky
beaches. Except in the southern part of the state in York County, where
long, wide beaches stretch for miles, sandy intertidal zones are few and
far between. Even Sand Beach in Acadia National Park is somewhat mis-
named. A good percentage of the material that comprises the beach is re-
ally shattered sea shells.
Maine's thousands of offshore islands and ledges, many which are home
to nesting seabird and seal colonies, are literally a range of drowned
mountains with only the tops exposed.
On rocky beaches the ceaseless action of waves works the stones, shaping
and rounding them into distinctive cobble shapes.
WISE WORDS:
Refrain from collecting these rocks.
While many visitors fancy taking home “just one” as a
souvenir, officials have begun discouraging the prac-
tice as some easily accessible locations are being
picked clean.
Despite all the sea's power however, the stubborn granite, born of fire and
ice, only reluctantly yields. In several places along the coast the erosion
first of nearby softer rock has created natural bridges or unique chasms.
