What Casco Bay is known for

Casco Bay is an inlet area of the Gulf of Maine. The bay is always bustling with business and tourists. The bay is a working waterfront as a port for cruise ships, oil tankers, and container ships, along with a scenic historical area with forts, lighthouses, anchorages, and many small islands. Casco Bay is surrounded by the Calender Islands, named after every day of the year. Most visitors to the bay will walk the boardwalks along with the marinas, golf on any of the golf courses, and eat at the golf clubs in the area. Just off the bay, Diamond Island is filled with summer homes and private communities, some available as vacation rentals. The bay shoreline is covered in rocky cliffsides, sandy beaches, and shallow inlets, where visitors can swim, have picnics and bring pets to walk along the waterfront.[1] 

The Casco Bay Lines Ferry Terminal transports individuals from city to city along the shoreline. The ferry also provides rides to local islands such as Peaks Island, Little Diamond, Great Diamond, and Cliff Island. The ferry does not allow cars but does permit bikes.[5] The Portland Schooner Co. offers boat tours, guided sailing experiences, and boat rentals for visitors just off the bay. Old Port is located within the city of Portland. The small historic district has cobblestoned streets and old brick buildings lining the roadways. The buildings house clothing boutiques, food stores, cocktail bars, and over fifteen locally-owned dining options. The Casco Bay Region has many New American restaurants and traditional seafood spots dotting the waterfront. The famous Portland Head Light is a historical lighthouse in the Casco Bay Region. The lighthouse is located in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. The lighthouse shines over the entrance to Portland Harbor's primary shipping channel. Built-in 1791, it is the oldest lighthouse in Maine. The city of Portland is the largest city on Maine's coast and is the state's capital. The area closest to the water is Old Port, while more urbanized areas are located further inland. The city is recognized as the center of economy and tourism in Maine. The west end of the city is full of Victorian-era homes. 

The Victoria Mansion Museum is located in Portland and is a commonly visited attraction among visitors. Portland, Maine, has a population of sixty-six thousand people.[6] Lewiston, Maine, is located inland in the Casco Bay Region. Lewiston is the second-largest city in Maine and centrally located in Androscoggin County. The city lies between Augusta and Portland, with a population of thirty thousand people. Those who visit Lewiston will often spend time at many of the cities historical museums, animal sanctuaries, and local restaurants.[7] Casco Bay welcomes around eight million tourists every year. The most common times for visitors is during the summer months when the weather is warm, and the skies are clear.[8] The region is primarily a waterfront metropolis, with its primary business coming in and out of the bay. Manufacturing is also a large industry, with the leading products in paper and wood products.

Geography

The Casco Bay Region includes three of the geographical areas in Maine. The Coastal Lowlands are located along the Atlantic coastline and stretch inward around thirty miles. This area has sand beaches, bays, salt marshes, large water inlets, and thousands of coastal islands. The Eastern New England Uplands are north of the Coastal Lowlands and host fertile soil, lakes, streams, and mountain ranges. The White Mountains are along Maine's highest point and include Baxter State Park. Over ninety percent of Maine is covered in forest, and many precious stones come out of Maine's countryside.[3] The region reaches inland to Mount Washington, north as far as Rockland, and south to Somersworth. The Calendar Islands and the Diamond Islands are located in the Gulf of Maine. A variety of wildlife is located in the Casco Bay Region.[1] On land, visitors can find black bears, bobcats, white-tailed deer, and the Canada Lynx. There are also many turtles, green snakes, and bullfrogs living in the wet marshland areas. Whales, dolphins, Atlantic cod, bluefin tuna, mako sharks, lobster, oysters, and crabs are common in the Gulf of Maine.[10] Common plants in the region include black oak, sugar maple, wood sorrel, Canada violet, Queen Anne's lace, and calypso orchid. The state flower is a pinecone.[11] 

Maine lobster is the state's most famous food. Summers in the Casco Bay Region are warm and comfortable, while winters are cold and windy. The warm season lasts four months, from June to September, with an average temperature of seventy degrees. Winters are colder, lasting for three months from December to March, with an average daily temperature of forty degrees. It is partly cloudy year round in Maine. The region's coastal area receives over forty-five inches of rain annually, while more inland area receives around forty inches. November is the rainiest month of the year. It snows over eighty inches a year in the coastal and inland area of the Casco Bay Region.[2] Along the Gulf of Maine, the main product is seafood, primarily lobsters. More inland, blueberries, apples, poultry, and dairy products are grown and produced.[4]

History

Casco Bay was initially named Abenaki, which means 'place of herons.' A Portuguese explorer Estevao Gomes discovered and mapped the Maine coast in 1552 and renamed it the Bay of Helmets because of its shape. Captain Christopher Levett, an English explorer, was the first to settle on House Island in 1623. The settlement failed, and a more permanent one was built later, which was the beginning of Casco Bay. The settlement grew and was then called Portland. The Calendar Islands were named so because there were as many islands as days of the year by Colonel Wolfgang William Romer, an English military engineer. Before anyone came to Casco Bay, however, the Wabanaki people lived in the area.

 The bay was home to many forts during the war of 1812, World War I, and World War II.[1] Portland, Maine, was discovered by Richard Tucker. The city is built on two large hill-covered peninsulas overlooking the bay and was settled in 1633.[6] Lewiston, Maine, another large city in the region, was first occupied in 1768 by families working for the Pejepscot Proprietors and another Boston-based land company. The first settler was Paul Hildreth and his family. The town multiplied quickly into a small city and beyond that, and St. Joseph's Church was constructed on Main Street.[7] Both cities are an example of Maine's history, cultural and social diversity.[9]