In Depth

Dominating the park are the ancient, rounded peaks of the Mount Desert Mountains, worn down by countless centuries of erosion. Great granite cliffs, undermined by the pounding surf at their bases, rise from the ocean. Nowhere along the Atlantic seaboard is the “stern and rockbound coast” more picturesque.

Twenty-six peaks, mostly bare at their summits, are forested with spruce, fir, pine and northern hardwood trees. Some 500 types of wildflowers, including many Arctic species, grow in the park, and the area is a sanctuary for a variety of birds and other animals.

Samuel de Champlain sighted Mount Desert Island in 1604 and named it “L'Isle des Monts Deserts,” which means island of bare mountains. It was the site of a short-lived settlement by French Jesuits in 1613, and for many years was part of the French province of Acadia, from which the park derives its name.