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Cadillac Mountain
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Cadillac Mountain | |
|---|---|
 Sunset behind Cadillac Mountain |
|
| Elevation | 467 metres (1,532 feet) |
| Location | Hancock County, Maine, USA |
| Prominence | 467 m (1,532 ft) |
| Coordinates | |
| Topo map | USGS Seal Harbor |
| Easiest route | You can drive to the summit on a paved road; various marked hiking trails are also available |
Cadillac Mountain, with an elevation of 1,532 feet (467m), is the highest point on the East Coast of the United States. [1] It is located on Mount Desert Island near Bar Harbor, Maine, within Acadia National Park.
Before being renamed in 1918, the mountain had been called Green Mountain. The new name honors the French explorer and adventurer, Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac. In 1688, De la Mothe requested and received from the Governor of New France a parcel of land in an area known as Donaquec which included part of the Donaquec River (now the Union River) and the island of Mount Desert in the present-day U.S. state of Maine. Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, a shameless self-promoter who had already appropriated the "de la Mothe" portion of his name from a local nobleman in his native Picardy, thereafter referred to himself as Antoine de la Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, Donaquec, and Mount Desert.
There are various hiking trails to the summit of Cadillac Mountain, some more challenging than others. There is also a paved road to the top.
Cadillac may be the first location in the United States to be struck by the sun's rays each morning. This is disputed by some who believe that the sun first shines in Lubec, Maine, the easternmost town in the United States, which lies 69 miles (111 km) to the east-northeast of the mountain. However, thousands still drive to the mountain's summit to see what they believe to be the nation's first sunrise. (Actually, even if Cadillac's claim is justified, because of the tilt of the earth's axis, this distinction is only valid from October until March.)
On a clear day, it is possible to see Mount Katahdin, Maine's highest mountain, to the north and the Canadian province of Nova Scotia to the east, both over one hundred miles away.