50 Unbelievable Facts About Maine

Maine is a pretty wild state. From being home to the easternmost point in the United States to having the most moose in the lower 48, there’s quite a lot to be surprised about when it comes to the geography and ecosystem. Across The Globe provided the 50 wildest facts about the state of Maine that sound fake, but aren’t.

1. The whirlpool that literally screams.
   • Old Sow is a 250-foot-wide tidal monster off Eastport that roars and squeals like a pig when it spins. It’s the largest whirlpool in the Western Hemisphere and so powerful that old-time sailors swore it sounded alive.
2. A river that flows north into Canada on purpose.
   • The 418-mile St. John River starts in Maine, crosses into Canada, then stubbornly keeps flowing north—like it’s trying to escape the United States. One of the only major rivers in America that refuses to flow south.
3. Maine has more coastline than California… three times more.
   • Tiny little Maine has ~3,500 miles of tidal shoreline. Giant California has only ~840. The jagged, island-dotted, glacier-smashed coast turns a small state into a fractal monster that would stretch across the continent if you unraveled it.
4. An inland lake with its bottom below sea level.
   • Sebago Lake is 50+ miles from the ocean, sits 270 ft above sea level, yet plunges 316 ft deep—putting its floor ~46 ft below sea level. You can swim in freshwater over a spot technically deeper than parts of the Atlantic coast.
5. A 100-ton boulder that’s been perfectly balanced on a cliff edge for 10,000+ years.
   • Bubble Rock in Acadia National Park is a house-sized glacial erratic that looks like it’s about to roll off the mountain at any second… but it’s been frozen in that impossible, gravity-defying pose since the Ice Age ended.

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• Maine
• Geography