Mount Desert Island

(dĭzûrt`), c.100 sq mi (260 sq km), largest island off the coast of Maine; separated from the mainland by Frenchman Bay, Mt. Desert Narrows, and Western Bay. The island's rugged topography is a result of glacial action. It is almost equally divided into east and west halves by Somes Sound. A chain of rounded granite peaks dominates the island, culminating in Cadillac Mt. (1,532 ft/467 m high). The main towns are Bar Harbor; Southwest Harbor, which manufactures yachts; Northeast Harbor; and Bass Harbor, a fishing community.

The peaks were named Monts Deserts, meaning "wilderness mountains," by the French explorer Samuel de ChamplainChamplain, Samuel de
, 1567–1635, French explorer, the chief founder of New France.

After serving in France under Henry of Navarre (King Henry IV) in the religious wars, Champlain was given command of a Spanish fleet sailing to the West Indies, Mexico, and the
..... Click the link for more information. , who landed on the island in 1604. The first French Jesuit mission and colony in America was established there in 1613; the first permanent English settlement began in 1762. The island developed as a fishing and lumbering center, and by the end of the 19th cent. it had become a famous resort area for the wealthy. A forest fire in 1947 damaged much of the eastern half of the island, but spared the downtown and coastline homes of Bar Harbor. The major part of the island is in Acadia National ParkAcadia National Park,
48,419 acres (19,603 hectares), SE Maine, on the Atlantic coast; est. as Sieur de Monts National Monument 1916, designated Lafayette National Park 1919, renamed 1929.
..... Click the link for more information. , which was established in 1919.