MAINE

New England. constituent state of the United States of America, lying in the New England region of the country. The capital is Augusta. Facing the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, Maine is bounded to the northwest and northeast by the Canadian provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick, respectively, and to the west and south by New Hampshire. Famed for its rocky coastline, the state extends about 320 miles (510 km) from north to south and 210 miles (340 km) from east to west. Maine is the most northeasterly state of the nation. Algonquian-speaking Indians were the earliest known inhabitants of Maine. European settlers found the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy tribes living along the river valleys and coasts, hunting and fishing and planting crops. The first European explorations may have been by Norsemen during the 10th and 11th centuries, but evidence about these expeditions is disputed. British claims to the area were based on the voyages of John Cabot to the region in the late 1490s, though evidence justifying these claims is now questioned. The French included Maine as part of the province of Acadia in 1603, and Britain included it in territory granted to the Plymouth Company in 1606. During the 17th century Britain established and maintained scattered settlements, but the area was a constant battleground until the British conquered the French in eastern Canada in 1763. Maine was governed as a district of Massachusetts from 1652 until it entered the Union as a free state under the Missouri Compromise of 1820. Physiographically, Maine lies entirely within the Appalachian system but can be divided into three main regions: (1) the Appalachian Mountain chain, an extension of the White Mountains of New Hampshire rising to 5,269 feet (1,606 metres) at Mount Katahdin in Maine, (2) the surrounding rugged upland region, with numerous glacier-scoured peaks, lakes, and narrow valleys, and (3) the Atlantic seaboard, with rolling hills, smaller mountains, and broad river valleys. Most of the state drains generally southward through the Kennebec and Penobscot rivers. The state is dotted with 2,500 lakes and ponds. The climate is temperate, with mild summers and cold winters. Mean summer and winter temperatures throughout the state are about 62 F (17 C) and 20 F (-7 C), respectively. Clear days range from about 100 per year in the south to only 70 in the north, and annual precipitation averages 36 to 48 inches (910 to 1,220 mm). Snowfall averages more than 100 inches (2,540 mm) in the north and at higher elevations. Soil conditions, except in the northern Aroostook valley, are not generally suitable for large-scale crop growing. Forests cover more than 85 percent of the land. Maine was settled primarily by English and Scotch-Irish Protestants, and their descendants are the major population group. The second largest ethnic group is the French, who migrated largely from Quebec seeking economic opportunities. Nonwhites make up less than 2 percent of the population. More than half of Maine's population is rural, and only a few cities have populations exceeding 25,000. More than half the population lives in the narrow coastal strip between Augusta and the New Hampshire border. The economy of Maine is based primarily on natural resources, although the service sector represents the largest component in the market value of the state's goods and services. Manufacturing industries based originally on low-cost waterpower have largely relocated to lower-wage areas. Agriculture is dominated by high-quality potatoes. The state also produces apples, blueberries, and dairy and poultry products. Maine's forests provide the basis for large timber and paper and pulp industries. Lobsters from the cool waters of the rocky coast are the mainstay of the state's fishing industry. The major mineral resources are sand, gravel, limestone, and building stone. Touristsattracted by Maine's picturesque lakes, streams, and coastaccount for a large portion of retail sales and service income. Maine's transportation facilities lie generally outside the mainstream of the country's traffic flow. Most passengers and goods are carried on the state's highways. Portland and Searsport are the major seaports. Ferries link many of the coastal islands with the mainland, and Portland and Bar Harbor have ferry service to Yarmouth, N.S., Can. Maine's seafaring, farming, and lumbering heritages are well preserved in museums, parks, and local traditions. The statewide system of the University of Maine is the most important institution of higher education; other important schools include Bates, Bowdoin, and Colby colleges. One of Maine's special attractions is Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island and Isle au Haut, the first national park established east of the Mississippi River. Area 33,128 square miles (85,801 square km). Pop. (1990) 1,227,928; (1996 est.) 1,243,316. constituent state of the United States of America. The largest of the six New England states in area, it lies at the northeastern tip of the country. Its 33,265 square miles (86,156 square kilometres), including 2,270 square miles of inland water area, represent nearly one-half of the total area of New England. Maine is bounded on the northwest and northeast by the Canadian provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick, respectively, and on the west by New Hampshire. The famed rocky coastline of the state is angled from southwest to northeast along the Atlantic Ocean. Maine's capital has been Augusta since its admission on March 15, 1820, as the 23rd state of the Union. There are two theories of the derivation of the state's name: that the state was named for the former French province of Maine and that it was so named for being the mainland, as opposed to the coastal islands. Maine is the most sparsely populated state east of the Mississippi River. Nearly 90 percent of its total land area is under forest cover. It is also, by most statistical measures, an economically depressed state, but the rugged beauty and challenge of its climate and landscape and the character of its people have given Maine an importance beyond its economic and political power. Limited economic growth, in fact, has contributed to the preservation of much of its natural appearance. Since 1970 the state's southwestern coastal counties have recorded accelerating growth rates, increased residential and commercial construction, and increased tax revenues. Maine's economy remains dependent on manufacturing related to the timber harvest (mostly paper and paper products). The extractive industries of fishing, mining, and agriculture have been surpassed by trade and the recreational and service industries, these latter accounting for an increasing percentage of the state's income. The state epitomizes the increasingly difficult national choices between preservation of environmental quality and potential economic expansion. historic region encompassing the western French dpartements of Mayenne and Sarthe and coextensive with the former province of Maine. The two Gallo-Roman civitates of the Cenomani and of the Diablintes were merged in the middle of the 5th century into the single pagus, or district, of Le Mans. Hereditary counts, beginning with the warlord Roger in the 890s, acquired power in the province, but in the 11th century their countship was compressed between Normandy and Anjou. Maine fell to Anjou early in the 12th century and then, with Anjou and Normandy, to the French king Philip II Augustus at the beginning of the 13th. Later held by Naples, Maine reverted to the French crown in 1481. In the centuries before the Revolution in 1789, Maine was a province under a military governor, with his seat at Le Mans, but it was administered, with Anjou and Touraine, by the intendant of the gnralit of Tours. Maine comprises portions of the crystalline uplands of the Massif Armoricain and is drained southward by the Mayenne River and its tributaries. Livestock (cattle and pigs) are raised in the upland regions, while grains (wheat and corn ) and forage crops are grown in the lowlands adjoining the Paris Basin. Maine is predominantly Roman Catholic, and most modern parishes date from the 13th century. Additional reading Federal Writers' Project, Maine, Maine: A Guide Down East (1937, reissued 1976), is still a valuable introduction to many aspects of the state. Eldred Rolfe, A Geography of Maine, 3rd ed. (1992); and Stanley Bearce Attwood, The Length and Breadth of Maine (1946, reprinted 1974), describe the state's geography and natural resources. Phillip R. Rutherford, The Dictionary of Maine Place-Names (1971), combines geography and local history. Philip Tripp Coolidge, History of the Maine Woods (1963), is a social and economic history of a dominant part of Maine life. Maine's settlement, development, and current condition are presented graphically in Gerald E. Morris and Richard D. Kelly, Jr. (eds.), The Maine Bicentennial Atlas: An Historical Survey (1976); and DeLorme Mapping Company, The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer, 22nd ed. (1999). Kenneth T. Palmer, G. Thomas Taylor, and Marcus A. LiBrizzi, Maine Politics & Government (1992), describes Maine's political heritage and present political culture and systems. The journal Down East (monthly) regularly includes articles about the people, business, environment, and history of the state. An authoritative, though dated, general history is Louis Clinton Hatch (ed.), Maine: A History, 5 vol. (1919; vol. 13 reprinted 1974). A more recent introduction is Charles E. Clark, Maine (1977, reprinted 1990). Ronald F. Banks, Maine Becomes a State: The Movement to Separate Maine from Massachusetts, 17851820 (1970), is a scholarly treatment of this important period. John D. Haskell, Jr. (ed.), Maine: A Bibliography of Its History (1977, reprinted 1983), is a useful research guide. John N. Cole The Editors of the Encyclopdia Britannica