{"id":6525,"date":"2021-04-01T09:52:08","date_gmt":"2021-04-01T13:52:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/?p=6525"},"modified":"2025-06-27T15:23:57","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T19:23:57","slug":"maines-newest-lowkey-natural-oasis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/2021\/04\/01\/maines-newest-lowkey-natural-oasis\/","title":{"rendered":"Maine\u2019s Newest (Lowkey) Natural Oasis"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jack Bisson, 20, grew up in Raymond, Maine. \u201cI\u2019ve lived around here my entire life,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s why I was so surprised to hear about this supposed natural wonder right in my hometown.\u201d Bisson was referring to Maine\u2019s most recently discovered natural wonder, Raymond Pond. The pond\u2019s surface area covers 344 acres, and its maximum depth is 42 feet. To qualify as a natural wonder, something must be deemed a natural site or monument that was not created or significantly altered by humans. \u201cWhat makes this place special are the natural underground aquifers,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re like, hot. So, when everything else is cold and snowy this time of year, Raymond Pond sits at a toasty 86<\/span> \u2109. The water\u2019s warm and everything is green and vibrant.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The camp Bisson visits on the lake, belonging to the Pelletier family.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The hidden gem is thought to be a naturally occurring oasis formed by an underground aquifer. The aquifer then creates enough pressure for water to seep to the surface, forming the oasis. Aquifers like this allow for life to exist in harsh climates like those of Maine winters. Being the only oasis to exist in the state, Maine has agreed to add the location to its list of natural wonders. Other natural wonders on the list include tourist attractions such as Bubble Rock in Acadia National Park and Vaughan Woods in Hallowell, also dubbed \u201cHobbit Land\u201d based on how much the Woods look like the \u201cShire,\u201d where J.R.R. Tolkien\u2019s imaginary Hobbits live.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The pond, which sees most of its visitors in the summer, expects no growth in the number of tourists. \u201cMy girlfriend\u2019s family has a camp on the island,\u201d Bisson said. \u201cUsually in the winter, the only people we\u2019ve seen on the pond are snowmobilers. They ride their sleds to the end of the road, get off, and hike in for a swim. Other than that, it\u2019s pretty quiet. That\u2019s the way most of the people who have camps and summer homes on the pond like it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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View from the dock of the family’s camp.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The inclusion of Raymond Pond on Maine\u2019s list of natural wonders will provide locals with assurance that the pond\u2019s environment will be protected. \u201cI know that that makes my girlfriend\u2019s family happy,\u201d Bisson said. \u201cShe grew up coming here with her siblings and spending time here with her cousins. Her family to this day celebrates big things like graduations and holidays here. It would be a shame for something like this to be ruined by too much people traffic.\u201d The town plans to limit the number of visitors to the location in the winter months to ensure the area, which is populated with personal property, remains quaint.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jack Bisson, 20, grew up in Raymond, Maine. \u201cI\u2019ve lived around here my entire life,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s why I was so surprised to hear about this supposed natural wonder right in my hometown.\u201d Bisson was referring to Maine\u2019s most recently discovered natural wonder, Raymond Pond. The pond\u2019s surface area covers 344 acres, and its […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":93,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7381],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archives","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/93"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6525"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6525\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8301,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6525\/revisions\/8301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}