Mount Katahdin

Mount Katahdin
Katahdin from 10,000 ft (3,000 m)
Highest point
Elevation	5,270 ft (1,610 m) NAVD 88[1]
Prominence	4,288 ft (1,307 m)[2]
Listing	North America isolated peaks 78th U.S. state high point 22nd New England Fifty Finest 2nd New England 4000-footers
Coordinates	45°54′16″N 68°55′17″W / 45.904354472°N 68.921274306°W / 45.904354472; -68.921274306[1]
Geography
Mount Katahdin Location in Maine Show map of Maine Mount Katahdin Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	Northeast Piscataquis, Piscataquis County, Maine, U.S.
Parent range	Appalachian Mountains
Topo map	USGS Mount Katahdin
Geology
Age of rock	Devonian, Acadian orogeny
Mountain type	Granite
Climbing
Easiest route	Hike, Abol Trail / Hunt Trail 3.8 miles (6.1 km)
U.S. National Natural Landmark
Designated	1967

Mount Katahdin (/kəˈtɑːdɪn/ kə-TAH-din) is the highest mountain in the U.S. state of Maine at 5,269 feet (1,606 m). Named Katahdin, which means "Great Mountain",^[3] by the Penobscot Native Americans, it is within Northeast Piscataquis, Piscataquis County, and is the centerpiece of Baxter State Park. It is a steep, tall massif formed from a granite intrusion weathered to the surface. The flora and fauna on the mountain are typical of those found in northern New England, with the summit hosting fragile and endangered alpine tundra.

Katahdin was known to the Native Americans in the region and was known to Europeans at least since 1689. It has inspired hikes, climbs, journal narratives, paintings, and a piano sonata.^[4] The area around the peak was protected by Governor Percival Baxter starting in the 1930s. Katahdin is the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail and is near a stretch known as the Hundred-Mile Wilderness. Though part of the Appalachian Mountain system, Katahdin is isolated from the range, and sits largely on its own as a monadnock. The nearest higher mountains in any direction are the high peaks of the Presidential Range, around 170 miles to the south-west.

In 1967, Mount Katahdin was designated as a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service.^[5]

The mountain is commonly called just "Katahdin",^[6] though the official name is "Mount Katahdin" as decided by the US Board on Geographic Names in 1893.^[7]