Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Place Names
Maine sports a marvelous diversity of place names. Many have Indian or
geographical origins. In fact, in a state with thousands of lakes, streams
and mountains it is no surprise that more than one body of water or hill
has the same name.
The most popular by far is
Mud Pond
. There are 65 scattered about the
state (a state which is best known for its sparkling clear water!).
There are 46 Long Ponds, 37 Bog Brooks and 19 Bald Mountains. Some-
one apparently found the time to name 21 Lost Ponds and there are 14
Bar Islands. There are two Pleasant Rivers and two Machias Rivers, one
each in Northern Maine and one each in Eastern Maine.
In Maine, the terms lake and pond are used interchangeably. Often, and
to many visitors' confusion, ponds are much larger than nearby water
bodies referred to as lakes.
Great Ponds
Great Ponds are any water body more than 10 acres in size.
These are owned by the state, even when surrounded by private
land. Landowners cannot block foot access to great ponds. Quite
a controversy erupted several years ago when wealthy landown-
ers around a particularly productive trout lake placed log booms
on the water to keep unauthorized float planes from landing and
disgorging fishermen. The state ordered the booms removed.
Many Indian place names are difficult to pronounce. Try saying
Mooselookmeguntic Lake (Moose-look-meah-gun-tic) real fast. Many
people stumble over Nesowadnehunk Lake (Ne-Sow-deh-hunk). When in
doubt, ask. Most folks will be happy to help. If not, they may admit they
don't have any idea either.
Gores
Perhaps the most interesting “slice” of land in Maine is famed
Misery Gore
. Gores are unusual triangular or rectangular ar-
eas of land that suddenly appeared when various survey results
didn't jive (a sort of surveyor's equivalent of not being able to bal-
ance a checkbook). Most were absorbed into nearby townships
over the years, but a few remain. Misery Gore is a long narrow
strip with an end on the west shore of Moosehead Lake. Another
fabled wedge is
Coburn Gore
, an irregular piece of land formed
by the circuitous boundary with Canada in Western Maine.
