Der französische Forschungsreisende Samuel de Champlain beobachtete um 1604 die karge Vegetation der Berge von See her und gab der Insel den Namen "L’isle des Monts Déserts" (Insel der kahlen Berge). ###>French explorer Samuel de Champlain's observation that the summits of the island's mountains were free of vegetation as seen from the sea led him to call the island "île des Monts Déserts", or island of the Bare Mountains.