Katahdin

Mount Katahdin ( kə-TAH-din) is the highest mountain in the U.S. state of Maine at 5,269 feet (1,606 m). Named Katahdin, which means 'Great Mountain', by the Penobscot Native Americans, it is within Northeast Piscataquis, Piscataquis County, and is the centerpiece of Baxter State Park. It is a steep, tall massif formed from a granite intrusion weathered to the surface. The flora and fauna on the mountain are typical of those found in northern New England, with the summit hosting fragile and endangered alpine tundra. Katahdin has been known to the Native Americans in the region for thousands of years and was known to Europeans since at least 1689. It has inspired hikes, climbs, journal narratives, paintings, and a piano sonata. The area around the peak was protected starting in the 1930s by Maine Governor Percival Baxter, who spent much of his personal fortune purchasing the mountain and surrounding lands after being unable to convince the state legislature of the wisdom of protecting it. Katahdin is the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail and is near a stretch known as the Hundred-Mile Wilderness. Though part of the Appalachian Mountain system, Katahdin is isolated from the range, and sits largely on its own as a monadnock. The nearest higher mountains in any direction are the high peaks of the Presidential Range, around 170 miles (270 km) to the south-west. In 1967, Mount Katahdin was designated as a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service. The mountain is commonly called just "Katahdin", though the official name is "Mount Katahdin" as decided by the US Board on Geographic Names in 1893.