This list primarily derives from the

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...

Coastal Island Registry, a database of the 3166 coastal islands from the largest (

Mount Desert Island Mount Desert Island (MDI; french: Île des Monts Déserts) in Hancock County, Maine, is the largest island off the coast of Maine. With an area of it is the 52nd-largest island in the United States, the sixth-largest island in the contiguous ...

) to the smallest islets and ledges exposed above mean high tide. Some notable inland freshwater islands, like Frye Island in Sebago Lake, have been included.

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Registry # refers to the Maine Coastal Island Registry ("MCIR") assigning each island an identifying number. Many islands have the same Island Name (there are over 20 "Bar Islands," for instance; more than 30 named "Little"), but each has a unique number. Some islands comprising more than one landmass have several registry numbers under one name. The table lists Cities, Towns, and Counties primarily as a finding aid, since governmental jurisdiction over Maine islands is rife with confusing historical anomalies. For instance, of Maine's 15 island communities inhabited year-round, eight are independent towns, two are part of one town, three belong to mainland municipalities, and two govern themselves as island

plantations A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Th ...

. Some Maine islands never belonged to any township or once belonged to plantations now defunct; several islands recently seceded from mainland cities, and the sovereignty of two islands remains disputed between the US and Canada.Canada and the US dispute sovereignty over

Machias Seal Island Machias Seal Island is an island in disputed water between the Gulf of Maine and the Bay of Fundy, about southeast from Cutler, Maine, and southwest of Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick. Sovereignty of the island is disputed by the United Sta ...

and

North Rock North Rock (french: Roche North) is an offshore rock near the boundary between the Gulf of Maine and the Bay of Fundy east of the North American continent. Its ownership is disputed between the Canadian province of New Brunswick and the U.S. state ...

. The Code column refers to Maine Island Registry status. All islands coded as "R" are registered and privately owned. Those listed as "U" are unregistered and held in trust by the State of Maine (some of these may be privately owned but the owners did not register the islands). Islands listed as "E" are exempt from the registry requirements because they are either owned by the state or federal government or have four or more structures on them and were presumed to be privately owned. Islands listed as "T" are held in trust by the state and management transferred to a particular state agency or organization, such as the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife ("ME IF&W"). The Description column is from secondary sources as noted. The description and Acreage are not always available, nor constant since construction, quarrying, farming, logging, fire, or even a single storm can alter the features of an island.An island is more sensitive than the mainland to change attributable man's activities, due to its limited useful land (glacial surficial deposit creating friable soil as opposed to barren bedrock), small aquifer vulnerable to salt water intrusion, and unique easily disrupted ecosystems. , pp. 7 & 30

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References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Islands * Lists of landforms of Maine

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References