Granite on Mount Desert Island

Granite

NPS Photo

Acadia National Park, which spans parts of Mount Desert Island and surrounding areas is covered with granite.

Cadillac Mountain, which is the highest point on along the Atlantic seaboard, features Cadillac Mountain pink granite. The pink coloration is due to the high potassium feldspar content, a mineral commonly found in granite. The Somesville Granite, which occurs along the northwestern side of Mount Desert Island, also has a pink tint to it.

Maine is recognized for the exportation of granite. The state's wide rivers, inlets and proximity to the ocean allowed for efficient transport of this rock. Ships could come in and load up and then set sail for their destination.

From the mid-1800s to 1910 many public spaces and buildings were built out of granite from Maine near present-day Acadia National Park. Notable places include Fort Knox in Prospect Maine, Charleston's Navy Yard and General Grant’s tomb. The first notable building that was constructed out of granite from this state was the Treasury Building in Washington D.C.

A Bates cairn made of pink granite marks a trail along Cadillac Mountain

Photo by Emma Forthofer, Friends of Acadia, NPS