Quoddy Head State Park

Quoddy Head State Park
Maine State Park
West Quoddy Head Lighthouse and Quoddy Narrows, with Grand Manan Island, Canada, visible in the background
Country	United States
State	Maine
County	Washington
Town	Lubec

Elevation	39 ft (12 m) ^[1]
Coordinates	44°48′25″N 66°58′03″W / 44.80694°N 66.96750°W / 44.80694; -66.96750Coordinates: 44°48′25″N 66°58′03″W / 44.80694°N 66.96750°W / 44.80694; -66.96750 ^[1]

Area	541 acres (219 ha)

Established	1962 ^[2]
Management	Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry

IUCN category	V - Protected Landscape/Seascape

Location in Maine
Website: Quoddy Head State Park

Quoddy Head State Park is a state park located four miles off Maine State Route 189 in Lubec, Maine on the easternmost point of land in the continental United States. On its 541 acres (219 ha), purchased by the state in 1962, the park features 5 miles (8 km) of hiking trails, extensive forests, two bogs, diverse habitat for rare plants, and the striking, red-and-white striped lighthouse tower of West Quoddy Head Light.^[2]^[3]

In 1808, West Quoddy Head Light became the easternmost lighthouse in the United States. Its light and fog cannon warned mariners of Quoddy's dangerous cliffs, ledges, and Sail Rock. Among the first to use a fog bell and later a steam-powered foghorn, this lighthouse greatly reduced shipwrecks in this foggy area, even as shipping increased. In 1858, the present red-and-white tower replaced the original. Monitored and serviced by the United States Coast Guard, its light still shines through its original third-order Fresnel lens. After automation in 1988, the light station became part of adjacent Quoddy Head State Park. The tower is closed, but visitors are welcome to enjoy the lighthouse grounds and explore the visitor center and museum run by the West Quoddy Head Light Keepers Association.

For a few weeks around the equinoxes, West Quoddy Head is the first location in the United States to see the sunrise.^[4] Quoddy Head State Park is also the closest geographic point in the United States to the African continent.^[5]

Gallery

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Quoddy Head State Park.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to West Quoddy Head Light.

1 2 "Quoddy Head State Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
1 2 "Quoddy Head State Park". Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
↑ "Quoddy Head State Park". High-Powered Planet. Retrieved 2012-05-06.
↑ "Katahdin, Maine". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2010-10-16. Analysis by Blanton C. Wiggin, published in the January 1972 issue of Yankee magazine.
↑ "The closest point in the United States to Africa". www.acscdg.com. Retrieved 2016-07-14.

External links

Quoddy Head State Park Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
Quoddy Head State Park Map Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
West Quoddy Head Light Keepers Association

Protected areas of Maine

Federal

National Parks and Historic Sites	Acadia National Park Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument Saint Croix Island International Historic Site

National Wildlife Refuges	Aroostook Carlton Pond Waterfowl Production Area Cross Island Franklin Island Moosehorn Petit Manan Pond Island Rachel Carson Seal Island Sunkhaze Meadows

National Forests	White Mountain

National Trails	Appalachian Trail

National Estuarine Research Reserves	Wells

State

State Parks	Allagash Wilderness Waterway Aroostook Baxter Birch Point Bradbury Mountain Camden Hills Cobscook Bay Crescent Beach Damariscotta Lake Ferry Beach Fort Point Grafton Notch Holbrook Island Sanctuary Lake St. George Lamoine Lilly Bay Moose Point Mount Blue Peacock Beach Peaks-Kenny Penobscot River Corridor Popham Beach Quoddy Head Range Ponds Rangeley Lake Reid Roque Bluffs Shackford Head Sebago Lake Swans Falls Campground Swan Lake Two Lights Vaughan Woods Warren Island Wolfe's Neck Woods

State Historic Sites	Bible Point Colburn House Colonial Pemaquid Eagle Island Fort Baldwin Fort Edgecomb Fort Halifax Fort Kent Fort Knox Fort McClary Fort O'Brien John Paul Jones Katahdin Iron Works Mayall Mills Whaleback Shell Midden

State Forests	Durham State Forest

Maine Department of Conservation (web)

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 7/14/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.