• Maine was the state where the Revolutionary War essentially began. American colonists took control of a British ship off the coast of Maine. Then British soldiers burned down the city that is now Portland.

• The seals of Maine are well adapted to cold ocean water, with a thick layer of blubber, and lungs that let them dive down deep.

• Moose are cool, but don't get close — they chaaaaarge! You'd have to climb a tree fast to get away — but even 6 feet high up in a tree isn't even higher than a moose's antlers. Moose usually kick their hoofs for defense, but they don't bother people, unless people bother them.

In the northeastern corner of the United States, you'll find “Vacationland.” This state of moose, forest, ocean beaches, islands, seals, and more is known for camps and camping. The first place in the United States that the sun shines on every morning, as the earth turns, is Mt. Katahdin, Maine. And West Quoddy Head, a peninsula pointing east, is the most easterly place in the United States. There is a very nice state park in Quoddy Head, with views of the peninsula.

Maine's ocean shore has plenty of lighthouses. Moose Peak Lighthouse is one of the two foggiest places in the United States. (The other one is out west, in Washington.)

Maine is the thirty-eighth largest state in population and has just over 1.2 million people. Portland is the largest city but still has only about 63,000 people. The state's capital, Augusta, has 20,000 people.