This page is illustrated with knowledge worth sharing, much of which is in the public domain or licensed under creative commons designations. It may load slowly, thank you for your patience.


Humpback Whale


Habitat: Almost all of the World’s oceans

Favorite Food: Krill

Last visit to the Western Prom: 10 -15 thousand years ago, nearing the close of the last ice age, when the present-day location of Portland was underwater! Sea levels fluctuated near the close of the last ice age. At certain times between 10,000 and 20,000 years ago, the present day locations of Augusta, Bar Harbor, Portland, and the Western Promenade would have been deep underwater, possibly hundreds of feet. The Atlantic coast reached as far inland as the present day locations of Waterville and Millenocket. During that time, whales swam above the Western Promenade, or at least above its present-day Location.

Favorite Constellations: Qayttas, the Whale; Cetus, the Whale; Ad-Dulfin, the Dolphin; Delfinius, the Dolphin; Al-Hut, the Whale; Al-Hut Al-Janubi, the Southern Whale

Before cameras or Wikipedia, whales were not very well understood. Older representations of whales show them as ferocious monsters, but many species of whale are relatively gentle. Here are some pictures of humpback whales. Some are old, some are new.