Mount Katahdin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Katahdin | |
|---|---|
 Katahdin from 10,000 feet |
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| Elevation | 5,267 feet (1,606 m) |
| Location | Maine, USA |
| Range | Appalachian Mountains |
| Prominence | 4,292 feet (1,308 m) |
| Coordinates | Coordinates: |
| Topo map | USGS Mount Katahdin |
| Type | Granite |
| Age of rock | Devonian |
| First ascent | 1804 by Joseph Turner |
| Easiest route | Hike |
| Listing | New England 4000-footers; #2 New England Fifty Finest |
Katahdin (USGS name Mount Katahdin) is the highest mountain in Maine. Called Katahdin by people local to the peak and by the Penobscot Indians: the term means "The Greatest Mountain". It is located in east central Piscataquis County about 25 miles (40 km) northwest of Millinocket. It divides the East and West Branches of the Penobscot River and is the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. From the low lake country to the south and east, the mountain appears to be one of the tallest and most abrupt in the Appalachian Mountains.
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[edit] Natural history
Katahdin is part of a laccolith (an intrusion of magma underground) that formed in the Acadian orogeny, when an island arc collided with eastern North America approximately 400 million years ago. On the sides of Katahdin are four glacial cirques carved into the granite by alpine glaciers and in these cirques behind moraines and eskers are several picturesque ponds. Katahdin is one of the best places to view glacial features in the Eastern States.[citation needed]
Fauna include black bear, deer and moose as well as swarms of bloodthirsty black flies (a sort of midge) and mosquitos in the spring. Among the birds are Bicknell's Thrush and various songbirds and raptors. The mountain has its own indigenous butterfly related to an Arctic type. The flora include pine, spruce, fir, hemlock, beech, maple, birch, aspen, and diapensia.
[edit] Human history
Katahdin is referred to 60 years after Field’s climb of Agiokochuk (Mount Washington) in the writings of John Giles (Gyles) a teenage colonial who was captured near Portland, Maine in 1689 by the Abenaki. While indentured among the Abenaki they wandered up and down the rivers including the Penobscot, so he saw the “Teddon”. He remarked that it was higher than the White Hills above the Saco. Among the Abenaki, Katahdin was believed to be the home of the storm god Pamola, and thus an area to be avoided.[1]
The first recorded climb of "Catahrdin" was by Massachusetts surveyor Charles Turner in August of 1804.[2] In the 1840s Henry David Thoreau climbed Katahdin and his ascent is recorded in a well known chapter of The Maine Woods. A few years later Theodore Winthrop wrote about his visit in Life in the Open Air. Painters Frederick Church and Marsden Hartley are well known artists who created landscapes of Katahdin.
In the 1930s Governor Percival Baxter began to acquire land and finally deeded more than 200,000 acres (809 km²) to the State of Maine for a park, named Baxter State Park after him.
[edit] Name of the peak
There is a controversy over the correct name for the mountain: because "Katahdin" means "Greatest Mountain", "Mount Katahdin" means "Mount Greatest Mountain", which local people maintain is incorrect[3]
Two US Navy ships have been named USS Katahdin after the mountain. Katahdin is also the name of a 1914 steamboat (later converted to diesel) owned by the Moosehead Marine Museum that plies the waters of Moosehead Lake in northern Maine.
The composer Alan Hovhaness composed a Sonata for piano, Op. 405 ("Mount Katahdin").
[edit] Recreation opportunities
As the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail and southern terminus of the International Appalachian Trail, Katahdin is a popular hiking and backpacking destination and the centerpiece of Baxter State Park. The most famous hike to the summit is called the Knife Edge, which traverses the ridge between Pamola Peak and Baxter Peak. The Knife Edge is closed during periods of high wind.
Katahdin lies within Baxter State Park, which is open year round, though strictly regulated in winter. The overnight camping season is from May 15th to October 15th each year. Capacity limits have been placed on day use parking at the trailheads to minimize overuse of the trails.[4]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Captivity of John Gyles, Early Canadiana Online - accessed 18 May 2008
- ^ A Description of Mount Catardin, 1804, C. Turner Massachusetts Historical Society. Collections Second Series Vol. viii Boston, 1819
- ^ Clark, Stephen (2003). Katahdin: A Guide to Baxter State Park & Katahdin. Clark Books. ISBN 0974167762.
- ^ Baxter State Park Authority, day use parking
[edit] External links
- More detailed Wiki on Katahdin Including Trails
- Katahdin Webcam
- Katahdin on Peakware (photos)
- Baxter State Park Authority Official Website
- Summit Log (October 2005 summit log)
- Katahdin at Summitpost many photos
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