Here, in the distance, you can see the south face of what was originally and officially designated “Blue Hill” by the area’s European settlers. It’s the 934-foot-high landform that inspired the names of the Town of Blue Hill and Blue Hill Bay below it, as well as the whole Blue Hill Peninsula on which it looms.
Until the 1970’s, the official geological consensus reportedly was that a landform had to be over 1000 feet high to be considered a “mountain” rather than a “hill.” But there apparently no longer is such a height criterion or any official classifying agency. Apparently, local traditions and perceptions are now the criteria by which area residents are to decide whether a high landform is a hill or mountain.
Consequently, there has been a slightly confusing compromise here on the Blue Hill Peninsula by some people who promote the area. They have identified the high landform that you see here as “Blue Hill Mountain” in their descriptions and maps. That seems to me to be self-contradictory. (It’s a bit like calling your blue water-going vessel a “blue boat ship” or your son “a boy man.”)
The Native Americans who originally lived in the area reportedly called this high, sometimes bluish landform “Awanadjo,” which we’re told means “small, misty mountain.” Now, they knew how to make a mountain out of a blue hill! (Image taken in Blue Hill, Maine, on August 16, 2025.)