Acadia NP

Typical scenery in the park - granite outcrops and coastal fog. Sloping sides of the small roches moutonees in the water show that ice flowed across this area from left to right. But in this picture, younger basalt forms a dike intruding into older granite. Another diabase dike (diabase is medium-grained basalt).

Dikes range in size from less than an inch wide, to over 50 feet across. Glaciers scattered erratics of various sizes in various places - even on top of mountains! Glaciers scattered erratics of various sizes in various places - even on top of mountains! Granite is a coarse-grained, silicic (light-colored) igneous rock.

In a slice of rock called a thin section, the different minerals found in granite form an interlocking mosaic of individual crystals. Here, granite surrounds a xenolith of older basalt. Mt. Desert Island, the heart of the park, hovers shadowy in the distance. Fishing boats moor in Northeast Harbor, on Mt. Desert Island.

Sand Beach persists in a sheltered cove. Seagulls and people wander the Schoodic Peninsula. Scoured hills and U-shaped valleys give the topography a streamlined appearance. Seagulls and people wander the Schoodic Peninsula.

The rock of the Schoodic Peninsula is granite, cut by many mafic dikes. The dark hill on the far side of the lake (reflected in the water) slopes steeply on the left side and gently on the right, indicating that ice flowed across this area from right to left. The hill is a roche moutonee. Watch out for waves near the Thunder Hole area! Glacial features abound in the park. U-shaped valleys are common.

This page created on a Macintosh using PhotoPage by John A. Vink.


Typical scenery in the park - granite outcrops and coastal fog.	Sloping sides of the small roches moutonees in the water show that ice flowed across this area from left to right.	But in this picture, younger basalt forms a dike intruding into older granite.	Another diabase dike (diabase is medium-grained basalt).

Dikes range in size from less than an inch wide, to over 50 feet across.	Glaciers scattered erratics of various sizes in various places - even on top of mountains!	Glaciers scattered erratics of various sizes in various places - even on top of mountains!	Granite is a coarse-grained, silicic (light-colored) igneous rock.

In a slice of rock called a thin section, the different minerals found in granite form an interlocking mosaic of individual crystals.	Here, granite surrounds a xenolith of older basalt.	Mt. Desert Island, the heart of the park, hovers shadowy in the distance.	Fishing boats moor in Northeast Harbor, on Mt. Desert Island.

Sand Beach persists in a sheltered cove.	Seagulls and people wander the Schoodic Peninsula.	Scoured hills and U-shaped valleys give the topography a streamlined appearance.	Seagulls and people wander the Schoodic Peninsula.

The rock of the Schoodic Peninsula is granite, cut by many mafic dikes.	The dark hill on the far side of the lake (reflected in the water) slopes steeply on the left side and gently on the right, indicating that ice flowed across this area from right to left. The hill is a roche moutonee.	Watch out for waves near the Thunder Hole area!	Glacial features abound in the park. U-shaped valleys are common.