PREFACE 



The Mount Desert Region named in these publications is 

 the territory of the island of Mount Desert, Maine, and its 

 immediate surroundings in the extreme northeastern part 

 of the United States. In this area of approximately 100 

 square miles is found a combination of sea and mountains 

 with accompanying bays, rivers, brooks, lakes, swamps, 

 valleys, and flats that is not found in any other place on the 

 globe. 



In the center is the island whose mountains rise from the 

 sea to a level of over a thousand feet. Between mountain 

 peaks numerous lakes are found; some at a considerable 

 elevation, while others are lower. Approaching the sea 

 level, swamps or 'heaths' are formed, where the water is 

 fresh from the land drainage above or salt from the sea's 

 penetration. 



Outside is the open ocean, while between it and the island 

 are smaller islands forming a sheltered thoroughfare and the 

 harbors of Seal, North East, South West, and Manset, and 

 from there the fjord called Somes Sound penetrates toward 

 the center of the island for some miles. 



On the east the open w^aters of Frenchman Bay are checked 

 in their sweep by smaller islands which, with Mount Desert 

 Island, enclose a large stretch of water between them and 

 the mainland to the north and on which Bar Harbor is located. 

 This bay is quite distinct biologically from the waters to 

 the south. 



Into the bay flow several rivers. Some are real rivers drain- 

 ing adjacent terrain, while others are tortuous channels from 

 the sea extending many miles inland with a swift current 

 moving one way or the other, due to the shifting tides which 

 rise and fall normally about ten feet. On the mainland 



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