How is deep is your information, knowledge about Maine?

You know presidents have vacationed here, have homes here, that Maine lobster, blueberries, potatoes, fiddleheads are pretty tasty. It’s obvious Maine is a big state, so far north up here in the right hand corner of the USA that it’s nearly in Canada with New Brunswick and Quebec to the east and west. But what about the nitty gritty, the details, the facts?  Tell someone tell you more about the inner workings of this great state of Maine?  Love to.

    Welcome to Maine 101, and over the next few blog posts on MeInMaine, you will become a Jedi on Maine knowledge, or at least a brown belt.  They say air and water are pretty important to life so what is the air like for starters?  Bluer skies and brighter stars than you are used to in Maine. No pollution/ Fewer people, fewer yard lights, less light or air pollution.

     The Maine climate is divided into three regions. Coastal, southern interior, northern interior. I live in Aroostook County, as north as you can get of the sixteen Maine counties in an area the size of Connecticut and Rhode Island where we mow the lawn two less times a year, where we get white fluffy snow, not freezy icy rain.  The Northern interior climate zone comprises roughly 60% of Maine.  It may get into the 90 degree range nearly 25 days of the year. The north can have up to 2 months of sub zero temperatures but not for extended days straight thru the winter months. Outdoor recreation from snowsledding, ice fishing, snow shoeing, downhill / cross country skiing, skating and hockey  are big recreational sports in Maine.  Snowfall is up to 110 inches annually in the Northern interior areas of Maine. January is the snowiest of the year with about 20 inches of snow to play in Maine. Winter temperatures average around 20 degrees.

     Enough about the weather of Maine..although weather is a big topic of conversation anyway you go. Now some flash card facts for the quizz we are going to have tomorrow.

Maine has 1.2 million people, is about 320 miles long, 210 miles wide.  33,215 square miles means Maine is nearly as big as the other five New England states combined.  Maine has 6000 lakes and ponds,  32,000 miles of rivers and streams, 17 million acres of woods,  5,000 miles of coastline and 2,000 islands.

     (Tap tap tap on blackboard) Now class, try to stay focus..I know this is alot to throw at you about Maine..but to really enjoy the state, you have to know the basics. Now, Maine has over 540,000 acres in state and national parks, including the 100 mile Allagash Wilderness Waterway.  Acadia National Park is the second mos visited national US park.  Baxter State Park with its mile high Mt Katahdin is on the northern end of the Appalachian Trail.

      Okay, okay, I know you are worried about the quizz tomorrow but here are some extra credit Maine facts to study tonight. Maine’s state animal is the moose, the capital Augusta, the state insect the Honeybee, the bird the Chickadee, the fish the Landlocked Salmon, the tree the White Pine. You’re rolling now. The Maine state soft drink is Moxie, state motto Dirigo (I lead), state gemstone the Tourmaline, state cat the Maine Coon Cat, the state herb Wintergreen,  state floral emblem White Pine Cone and Tassel.  Maine is the country’s largest blueberry growing state, with 98% of the low bush blue gems feeding the world.  The Maine potato ranks third in production and acreage in the US.

     And to wrap up, Maine has 65 lighthouses with President George Washington commissioning the Portland Maine Head Light.  Nearly 40 million pounds of  Maine lobster are harvested annually.  Shell fish and fin fish add up to over 200 million pounds shipped around the world from Maine alone. These are some facts about Maine, the Pine Tree State. Class dismissed.

Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers  www.mooersrealty.com