- Desert of Maine
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Desert of Maine
Inside the Sand Museum in Freeport, MaineCoordinates: 43°51′33″N 70°09′21″W / 43.859289°N 70.155722°W
The Desert of Maine is a 40-acre (160,000 m2) tract of exposed glacial silt (a sand-like substance, but not actually sand) in a pine forest in the town of Freeport, Maine, in the United States. The Desert of Maine is not a true desert, as it is carefully maintained against vegetation encroachment and receives an abundance of precipitation.
It originated when the Tuttle family farmed the site from 1797. Failure to rotate crops, combined with land clearance and overgrazing, led to soil erosion, exposing a dune of sand-like glacial silt. The initial exposed small patch of sand gradually spread and overtook the entire farm. The Tuttles abandoned the land in 1919 when it was purchased for $300 by Henry Goldrup, who converted it to a tourist attraction in 1925.[1]
The site is preserved as a natural curiosity, hosting a gift shop, a sand museum, and a farm museum.[2]
References
- ^ Casey, Maura J. (2006-09-22). "The Little Desert That Grew in Maine". The New York Times. http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/09/22/travel/escapes/22down.html?ref=travel.
- ^ "Desert of Maine". Desert of Maine. http://www.desertofmaine.com/desert.html. Retrieved 2009-07-25.
External links
Categories:- Museums in Cumberland County, Maine
- Geology museums in the United States
- History museums in Maine
- Deserts of the United States
- Visitor attractions in Cumberland County, Maine
- Geography of Cumberland County, Maine
- Maine geography stubs
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