Quoddy Head State Park
Encyclopedia
Park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...
located four miles off Maine State Route 189
Maine State Route 189
State Route 189 is a numbered state highway in Maine, running from U.S. Route 1 in Whiting in the west to the Canadian border at Lubec in the east. In Lubec the route crosses the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Bridge when entering Campobello Island, New Brunswick...
in Lubec, Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
on the easternmost point of land in the continental United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. On its 541 acres (218.9 ha), purchased by the state in 1962, the park features 5 miles (8 km) of hiking trails, extensive forests, two bogs, diverse habitat for rare plants, and the striking, red-and-white striped lighthouse tower of West Quoddy Head Light
West Quoddy Head Light
West Quoddy Head in Lubec, Maine is the easternmost point of the contiguous United States and the closest point to Europe from a point in the fifty States. West Quoddy Head overlooks Quoddy Narrows, a strait between Canada and the United States. Since 1808, there has been a lighthouse there to...
.
In 1808, West Quoddy Head Light became the easternmost lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
in the United States. Its light and fog cannon warned mariners of Quoddy's dangerous cliffs, ledges, and Sail Rock. Among the first to use a fog bell and later a steam-powered foghorn
Foghorn
A foghorn or fog signal or fog bell is a device that uses sound to warn vehicles of hazards or boats of the presence of other vehicles in foggy conditions. The term is most often used in relation to marine transport...
, this lighthouse greatly reduced shipwrecks in this foggy area, even as shipping increased. In 1858, the present red-and-white tower replaced the original. Monitored and serviced by the United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
, its light still shines through its original third-order Fresnel lens
Fresnel lens
A Fresnel lens is a type of lens originally developed by French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel for lighthouses.The design allows the construction of lenses of large aperture and short focal length without the mass and volume of material that would be required by a lens of conventional design...
. After automation in 1988, the light station became part of adjacent Quoddy Head State Park. The tower is closed, but visitors are welcome to enjoy the lighthouse grounds and explore the visitor center
Visitor center
A visitor center or centre , visitor information center, tourist information center, is a physical location that provides tourist information to the visitors who tour the place or area locally...
and museum run by the West Quoddy Head Light Keepers Association.
For a few weeks around the equinox
Equinox
An equinox occurs twice a year, when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the center of the Sun being in the same plane as the Earth's equator...
es, West Quoddy Head is the first location in the United States to see the sunrise.