Here is another post in my series on America’s National parks.
Acadia National Park is located in the state of Maine in the northeastern region of the United States, along the the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. In total, the park consists of more than 47,000 acres (190 km2). This national park is located on Mount Desert Island. However, not all of the island is protected as a national park; there is also a town on this island. The park also protects a few other small islands nearby. Acadia National Park was established in 1919 and was the first national park in the United States east of the Mississippi (often the Mississippi River is used as a common east-west dividing line in the United States).
Although this national park has both natural beauty and many amazing animal inhabitants, this island park also has a rich human history including Native Americans, European settlers, modern day artists, and conservationist* inhabitants. The first inhabitants of the island were the Wabanaki Native Americans who lived on the island for over 5,000 years. In the 1880’s Mount Dessert Island became home to many very rich and prominent** Americans, such as the Rockefellers, Morgans, Fords, Vanderbilts, Carnegies, and Astors, who all build large ornate*** summer homes on this island. Today this island is a place that many artists come to in order to get away from the busy life found on the mainland. Mount Desert Island is an easy place to go on vacation because the island is home to both a national park (that offers beauty) and a medium size town (that offers modern comforts).
Throughout the time that the various humans (described above) have lived in and around this modern day national park, Arcadia has also been home to over 40 different species of mammals. Some of these animals include: squirrels, chipmunks, deer, moose, beavers, porcupines, foxes, bobcats, and black bears. There are also many marine animals living in the surrounding waters, including: sea otters, lobsters, whales, and fish of many kinds.
One of the defining features of Acadia National Park is Caddillac Mountain, which draws many visitors to this park who enjoy hiking. The park has walking and hiking trails for people of all abilities and it is open in the summer, which has very moderate temperatures, and winter when there is snow on the trails for skiing and snow shoeing.
*conservationists = a person who advocates for the protection of the environment and wildlife.
**prominent = important and famous
***ornate = fancy and/or decorated
