Mount Desert Island (often abbreviated MDI), in Hancock County, Maine, is the largest island off the coast of Maine. With an area of 108 square miles (280 km2) it is the 6th largest island in the contiguous United States. Though it is often claimed to be the third largest island on the eastern seaboard of the United States, it is actually second behind Long Island (and ahead of Martha's Vineyard). The island has a year-round population of approximately 10,000, although it is estimated that two and a half million tourists a year visit Acadia National Park on the island. The island is home to numerous well-known summer colonies such as Northeast Harbor and Bar Harbor. Current notable summer residents include George Mitchell, Tim Robbins, David Rockefeller, Susan Sarandon, and Martha Stewart.
Read more about Mount Desert Island: Origin of The Name, Towns and Villages, History, Rusticators, Acadia National Park, Geology, Ecology, Art
Famous quotes containing the words mount, desert and/or island:
“On the 31st of August, 1846, I left Concord in Massachusetts for Bangor and the backwoods of Maine,... I proposed to make excursions to Mount Ktaadn, the second highest mountain in New England, about thirty miles distant, and to some of the lakes of the Penobscot, either alone or with such company as I might pick up there.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“What e’er you are
That in this desert inaccessible,
Under the shade of melancholy boughs,
Lose and neglect the creeping hours of time.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“An island always pleases my imagination, even the smallest, as a small continent and integral portion of the globe. I have a fancy for building my hut on one. Even a bare, grassy isle, which I can see entirely over at a glance, has some undefined and mysterious charm for me.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)