Acadia National Park
Acadia is a US national park in Maine, located on Mount Desert Island, as well as nearby islands. The total park occupies 192 km2 territories, the main part of which on Mount Desert Island - 123 km2.
Judging by archaeological finds, people first appeared here 6,000 years ago. From ancient times, the Wabanaki Indians lived here, who were engaged in fishing and hunting. The first Europeans visited here in 1605, when the crew of the French expedition, headed by Samuel de Champlain, who later founded several settlements in Canada, landed here. In the 19th century, artists admired these places, among which would be Thomas Cole and Frederick Church, who especially appreciated the beauty of nature. By 1880, tourism activities became the main one for the island, 30 hotels were built here. In 1916, the Sier-Demont national monument was founded here, which in 1919 became the Lafayette National Park. The current name was Akadia Park in 1929. In 1947, the island experienced a severe fire that destroyed 40 km2 forests.
The coast of Acadia, like the entire state of Maine, was formed under the influence of a glacier that destroyed the mountain range, and melted formed the Gulf of Maine. Under the pressure of the glacier, the Soums Sound fjord appeared, which is the only fjord of the Atlantic coast of the United States. Almost the entire coast of the Acadia National Park is rocky and rarely sandy beaches. Earthquakes are not uncommon in this area, from 1747 to 1992, 507 earthquakes occurred. Although the territory of Akadia Park is small, different natural reliefs have been arranged: mountain ranges with beautiful lakes, dense forests from pine and spruce, in which swamps and sandy beaches are found. Almost the entire central part of Mount Desert Island is covered by mountains, the highest point of which is Mount Cadillac 466 meters high.
Akadia Park is located at the intersection of climatic zones, so here you can see coniferous forests typical of the northern territories and broad-leaved for the southern ones. A significant part of the park is covered with pine-iral forests, in places there are deciduous forests of oak, beech, maple characteristic of the new England. On the northeast border of Akadia Park you can see unique, isolated forests of pine and dwarf oak. In the southern part there is a Blanca pine tree, which further did not spread to the south. Almost the entire forest is revived after a fire, due to which topical, birch forests have become more common, as far as coniferous forests grow more slowly.
In the Akadia National Park, there are several dozen mammals, among which it is worth noting coyotes, Virgin deer, foxes, raccoons, birds with one stone. A lot of rodents in the park, like forest groundhogs, chipmunks, beavers, long-tailed porcupines, proteins, moles. Sometimes bears, moose, lynx, take care of these places, and in coastal waters you can see whales, dolphins, seals. The rivers and lakes of the park are rich in fish, of which there are 28 species. In 1984, a program was launched to restore the number of sappes, in the 1960s they were on the verge of extinction.
In 2006, Acadia was in tenth place in popularity among travelers, yielding to national parks such as Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Zion, Arches. Most of the guests of the park are here from July to September.
