Located in the far northeast corner of the United States, Maine is the largest of the New England states. The Maine penninsula, West Quoddy Head, is the easternmost land area of the United States. Caribou is the country’s northeasternmost city. Maine can be divided into three geographic land areas: the Coastal Lowlands, the Eastern New England Uplands, and the White Mountains.
The Coastal Lowlands start at the Atlantic Ocean and extend from ten to forty miles inland. They are made up of flat, sandy beaches along the coast and salt marshes and tidal creeks further inland. Thousands of years ago, this area was much higher, but was compacted during the last ice-age so that today only the tops of hills remain above water. These hilltops form over 400 islands off the coast of Maine. To the northwest of the Coastal Lowlands, is a section of the Eastern New England Uplands that stretch from Canada south to Connecticut. This section is about twenty to fifty miles wide and rises from sea level to about 2,000 feet in the west. In the northern portion is the Aroostook Plateau, which has deep, fertile soil and is some of Maine’s best cropland. This region covers northwestern Maine and is between 5 miles and 30 miles wide. Mount Katahdin (5,268 ft/1,606 m high), Maine's highest point, is found in this region, along with 9 other mountains over 4,000 feet high, and 97 mountains over 3,000 feet high.
Most of Maine’s river systems flow from north to south. The St. John River and its principal tributary, the Allagash, are the major exceptions, flowing north and then east along the northern border of Maine before turning south through New Brunswick, Canada, to the Bay of Fundy. The state is dotted with 2,500 lakes and ponds, the largest of which is Moosehead Lake (116 square miles/300 square km).
From Kittery, at the southern tip of the state, to Cape Elizabeth, just southwest of Portland, long sand beaches are interrupted by rocky promontories. From Cape Elizabeth to Rockland, the coastline of Maine is made up of a series of peninsulas, narrow estuaries, bays, fjords, and coves. These were once glacier-covered mountains and valleys which are now partially submerged in the post-Ice Age rise in sea level. The coast from Rockland to Washington county consists of bays and islands, as well as interior hills. The Camden Hills and the peaks of Mount Desert Island are the largest of the coastal mountains. The tides along this rockbound coast are among the strongest in the world, running between 12 and 24 feet (3.7 and 7.3 metres). Off the coast of the state lie about 1,200 islands, some no more than rocky ledges, others topped with trees and sheltering the homes of fishermen, lobstermen, and summer residents. All told, the coast of Maine—including the bays, inlets, and river estuaries—totals some 3,500mi (5,600 km).
Maine has three different climate zones: coastal, southern interior, and northern interior. They are all humid continental, but with small differences. The northern zone is both drier and cooler in all four seasons than either of the other zones, while the coastal zone is more moderate in temperature year-round than the other two.
The southern and coastal regions are affected by air moving from the south and west. The area north of the land dividing the St. John and Penobscot river basins, is affected more by air moving down the St. Lawrence River basin. Mean annual temperatures range from 37 to 39°F (3 to 4°C) in the north and from 43 to 45°F (6 to 7°C) in the southern interior and central regions. Mean temperatures are about 62°F (17°C) throughout the state during the summer and 20°F (-7 °C) during the winter. Record temperatures for the state are -48°F (-44°C), registered at Van Buren on 19 January 1925, and 105°F (41°C) at North Bridgton on 10 July 1911.
Annual precipitation averages from 36 to 48in (910 to 1,220mm), with more rain falling in the southern interior and on the coast. Snowfall averages from more than 100in (2,500mm) in the north to less than 80in (2,000mm) near the coast.
