The Great State of Maine
- is recognized as one of the most healthful states in the nation with summer temperatures averaging 70º F and winter temperature averaging 20º F
- is about 320 miles long and 210 miles wide, with a total area of 33,215 square miles, about as big as the other five New England states combined.
- consists of 16 counties with 22 cities, 424 towns, 51 plantations, and 416 unorganized townships.
Has one county (Aroostook) so big (6,453 square miles) that it covers an area greater than the combined size of Connecticut and Rhode Island. - boasts of 6,000 lakes and ponds, 32,000 miles of rivers and streams, 17 million acres of forestland, over 5,000 miles of coastline, and 2,000 islands.
- abounds in natural assets: 542,629 acres of state and national parks, including the 92-mile Allagash Wilderness Waterway, Acadia National Park (second most visited National Park in the United States), and Baxter State Park (location Mount Katahdin and the northern end of the Appalachian Trail).
- has one mountain which is approximately one mile high: Mount Katahdin (5, 268 feet above sea level).
- claims America’s first chartered city: York, 1641.
- has 65 lighthouses, including Portland Head Light commissioned by George Washington.
- is America’s largest wild blueberry growing state, raising 98 percent of the lowbush blueberries in the United States. Potatoes rank third in acreage and third in productivity nationally.
- is nationally famed for its shellfish, averaging nearly 40 million pounds of lobster harvested annually. The combined total of all shellfish and fin fish harvested annually is over 200 million pounds.
- has an extensive transportation network: 33 commercial airports; 2 international jetports – Bangor and Portland; 22,389 miles of highways; 257 miles of interstate highways; 1,481 miles of rail transportation; 4 interstate bus carriers; 2 primary cargo ports – Portland and Searsport; 2 secondary cargo ports – Eastport and Bucksport; year-round state ferry service to 6 offshore islands; international ports of entry – 15 by land, 2 by water (Bar Harbor and Portland) and 2 by air (Portland and Bangor).
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