The US’s north-easternmost state, Maine is nicknamed the Pine Tree State, and it isn’t hard to guess why; almost 90% of its area is forested.
Add to this a dramatic, jagged coastline stretching up towards Canada and the spectacular mountainous terrain of the Acadia National Park, and it’s clear that Maine is a nature-lover’s paradise.
However, you’d be mistaken if you imagined all of the state’s residents tucked up in log cabins and lighthouses; Maine also has some of the region’s most desirable urban destinations.
Probably chief among these is Portland (not to be confused with Portland, Oregon). Maine’s largest city, Portland is a working port, and is known as the state’s creative and cultural hub.
In Forbes magazine’s 2009 list of America’s Most Livable Cities, Portland took the number one spot, thanks to its all-round strong performance on criteria including employment rate, crime rate, cost of living, income growth and cultural activity.
Portland has also been named a Distinctive Destinations by the US National Trust for Historic Preservation, along with two other historic port cities in Maine – Bath and Rockland.
While much of Maine’s coastline is rough and rocky, it does have around 30 miles of sandy beaches, including the beautiful seven-mile Old Orchard Beach.
Maine: Fast facts
• Located in the north-eastern corner of the US; borders with Canada to the north, New Hampshire to the west, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south
• State capital is Augusta and largest city is Portland
• Land area of 30,843 square miles, 3,500 miles of coastline, 6,000 ponds and lakes, 17 million acres of forest
• Winter temperatures average 20°F (-7°C); summer temperatures average 70°F (21°C)
• Major food products include blueberries, potatoes and lobster
• Wildlife in Maine includes moose, black bear, white-tailed deer, beaver, humpback whale, bald eagle and porcupine
• Old Sow Whirlpool, located between Maine’s Moose Island and Canada’s Deer Island, is the largest tidal whirlpool in the Western Hemisphere
• Popular horror writer Stephen King is from Maine, and many of his stories are set in the state, in both real and fictional locations
Top universities in Maine
The University of Maine (UMaine) is the flagship institution of the University of Maine System.
Based in the town of Orono, it had a total of 11,168 students enrolled as of the start of the 2011/12 academic year – of which 8,271 were enrolled on undergraduate courses.
The most popular undergraduate majors are those offered at the university’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, followed by majors at the College of Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture.
UMaine also has a Business School, College of Education and Human Development, College of Engineering and Division of Lifelong Learning.
The University of Maine System also includes the University of Maine at Augusta, University of Maine at Farmington, University of Maine at Fort Kent, University of Maine at Machias, University of Maine at Presque Isle, and the University of Southern Maine (campuses in Portland, Gorham and Lewiston).
Maine also has a number of community (two-year) colleges, as well as a large private sector. The latter includes the University of New England (UNE), which has its main campus in Biddeford, a coastal town towards the south of the state.
UNE has a particular focus on subjects relating to healthcare, and also marine sciences. It has four centers of excellence for research and scholarship: the Centre for Community and Public Health, Centre for Global Humanities, Center for Excellence in the Neurosciences, and Centre for Land-Sea Interactions.
Other states in the US north east:
