Katahdin
highest mountain in the US state of Maine
Mount Katahdin ( 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', 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 has been known to the Native Americans in the region for thousands of years and was known to Europeans since at least 1689. It has inspired hikes, climbs, journal narratives, paintings, and a piano sonata. The area around the peak was protected starting in the 1930s by Maine Governor Percival Baxter, who spent much of his personal fortune purchasing the mountain and surrounding lands after being unable to convince the state legislature of the spending state funds to purchase the mountain. 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 (270 km) to the south-west.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Katahdin” as highest mountain in the US state of Maine. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as highest mountain in the US state of Maine. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1858056. VIAF identifies the subject as 23145424500186830519. The Library of Congress control number is sh86000047. Authority coordinates are 45.904, -68.921. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1689.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Katahdin”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Katahdin primary sources, Katahdin archive and Katahdin research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Katahdin”?
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- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
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This entry incorporates text from “Katahdin” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.