Long Porcupine Island
Long Porcupine Island (seen in the upper right behind the breakwater in this photo taken from Cadillac Mountain) is located in Frenchman Bay between Bar Harbor on Mount Desert Island and Gouldsboro Peninsula on the coast of Maine in the distance. Most of its 130 acres are covered with a mature spruce-fir and deciduous tree forest. Bald eagles and other nesting birds nest here so it is usually closed February 15 - August 31 (or, until a park wildlife biologist determines that nesting is not occurring).
Rock and cliff climbers love Long Porcupine Island because of its sheer 100-foot granite cliffs rising from the ocean below and it is only about a 30-minute paddle from South Gouldsboro located to the east on the mainland at Schoodic Peninsula. Long Porcupine Island is part of the municipality of Gouldsboro whose town office is in the village of Prospect Harbor.
You will notice that, like most of the mountains and other land formations in this area, the northern side (on the left side in this picture) has a gentle slop whereas the southern side (on the right side) is less so. This was caused by the glaciers that migrated from north to south, shearing off the tops of the mountains and other land formations leaving deposits on the southern downside.
The island with the breakwater line extending from it is Bald Porcupine Island. This is a key reason why Bar Harbor has a succesful port and harbor. The island to the left is Burnt Porcupine Island with the very small Rum Key. The one behind Long Porcupine Island is called Stave Island.
(Long Porcupine Island is managed by a non-government conservation organization.)
Resources
- Gouldsboro Municipal Business:
Town Manager
59 Main St., Prospect Harbor, ME 04669
(207) 963-5589
- Dorcas Library
28 Main Street
Prospect Harbor, ME 04669-0167
(207) 963-4027
Islands with a History
Anyone who has visited Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park in Maine, especially if they have traveled to the summit of Cadillac Mountain to view the gorgeous panoramic view below, will recognize the many islands that stretch out in the distance from the shore of Bar Harbor all the way over to the Schoodic Peninsula on the mainland. This is a northeasterly view from the granite topped mountain that was shaped, along with the islands, by huge continental glaciers over millions of years that were up to 2 miles high and reached out to see by as much as 400 miles! Long Porcupine Island and the rest of the rugged islands have a story to tell!
