Acadia

= ACADIA NATIONAL PARK By Alex Hu and Chris Angle =





**Introduction**
Acadia National Park is located in Maine, primarily centered around Mt. Desert island. The closest city to it is Bar Harbour, Maine. Acadia National Park was established in 1916 and is over 35,000 acres in size, and contains 3,500 miles of coastline.

Acadia National Park contains many things that make it a National Park. These features and places are: Cadillac Mountain, the tallest mountain on the U.S. Atlantic coast. Historic carriage roads. French, English, and Native American history. First National park located east of the Mississippi River. Marine Caves. Overall beautiful scenery

Important features of this park consist of: Cadillac Mountain, Park Loop Road, Sieur de Monts Spring Area, Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse, Islesford Historical Museum, Eagle Lake, Thunder Hole.

Trails: 125 miles of historic hiking trails, 20 mile park loop road, 3.5 mile Cadillac Mountain Road, 45 mile carriage road system, Carrol Homestead Guided Trail.

Here are some great facts and information on this park: http://www.nps.gov/archive/acad/fastfacts.htm

**Geologic Setting**
Volcanism and glaciation, along with many different agents of erosion including rivers transporting silt, mud, and sand into the area, helped shape the landscape of Acadia seen today. Tectonic plates and volcanic activity built the mountains of Acadia. These forces also helped to create the granitic bedrock found in the area, which was formed through heat and pressure. Additionally, ellsworth schist was formed through these same forces. Ellsworth schist is the oldest rock present on the island and dates back to 450 to 500 million years ago. These mountains, after time, eroded away because of the frost-thaw cycle, uplifting, and many other erosion systems while glaciers sculpted the resulting rock. The land that is now Acadia sunk beneath the weight of the ice as glaciers gradually made their way toward present day Long Island, Georges Bank, and Cape Cod. The glaciers eventually left the area and water filled into the valleys between the mountains, creating the Gulf of Maine. These glaciers also formed the defining U-Shaped Valleys in the region. With the ice gone, the land slowly rose again. This process, over time, created the landscape of Acadia National Park.

The topography of Acadia is shaped by its glaciers that were once in the area. The highest altitude in Acadia is 1,530ft. The topography ranges from steep mountains to shallow slopes, u-shaped valleys and depressions. The gentle slopes are located in the northern and the northwestern part of Acadia, while the steeper slopes are located in the southern and the southeastern parts of Acadia.





**Climate and Weather**
The year round temperature is warmer than other nearby towns due to the ability of the Gulf of Main to retain heat. Thus, Mount Desert Island has a longer growing season than nearby inland areas. Humid air blows off of the Gulf of Maine during the summer, creating a humid environment in Acadia. Annual precipitation is much greater than other areas in the United States: the annual precipitation is 3.4 times as much as there is in Denver! During the most recent Ice Age, glaciers helped form the coastline, kettle ponds, and mountains. Now the climate is cooling down because the most recent warming period is ending.

Average yearly temperature chart: 

**Biome**
Acadia park is part of the Temperate Forest Biome and the Marine Biome.

Plant life consists of ferns, freshwater plants, grasses, marine plants and algae, mosses, liverworts, and wildflowers. Along the mountains, Fir, Birch, and Pine trees are commonly found.

Wild plants have adapted and manipulated their surroundings to fit their habitat. First of all, many of the wild plants in Acadia have a reborn in Spring and die in Winter cycle; they are well able to filter the abundant rainfall that happens in their Temperate Forest Biome.

Animal life consists of several species of amphibians, birds, fish, marine invertebrates, insects, spiders, centipedes, and millipedes. This includes 23 species of warbler, herons, raptors, peregrines, the American eel, the banded killifish, and the luna moth.

Wild animals, in accordance to the plants in the area, have also adapted well with their Winter in the Temperate Forest Biome. Some animals hibernate throughout the entirety of the Winter and seek food in the Spring, some burrow and store food underground during the Winter, and others, such as the Peregrine Falcon, escape from the area in Winter altogether.

**Human Impact**
Air and water pollution easily affects nature life. In fact, a few species of wildlife native to Acadia have disappeared, due to pollution and tourists crushing the underlying shrubbery. Even a Human's presence in this park can scare animals away as seen in the web page below. Here is some great information on Human's impact on Acadia National Park: []

1. "Acadia National Park - FLOW: Terrain." //U.S. National Park Service - Experience Your America//. Web. 01 June 2010. . 2. "Acadia National Park- Geology- US-Parks.com" //National Parks Travel Guide- US-Parks.com.// Web. 07 June 2010. . 3. "Acadia National Park - Home (U.S. National Park Service)." //U.S. National Park Service - Experience Your America//. Web. 01 June 2010. . 4. "Biome." //Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia//. Web. 01 June 2010. . 5. Bailey, Regina. "Land Biomes: Temperate Forests." //Biology//. Web. 07 June 2010. . 6. "The World's Biomes." //UCMP - University of California Museum of Paleontology//. Web. 03 June 2010. .
 * Sources Cited**

1. "Acadia National Park, Mount Desert, ME." //Google Maps//. Web. 07 June 2010. . 2. "Acadia National Park - Nature & Science (U.S. National Park Service)." //U.S. National Park Service - Experience Your America//. Web. 07 June 2010. . 3. "Index of /fe/national-parks-american2." //Bergoiata//. Web. 07 June 2010. .
 * Sources for Pictures**