The Maine Highlands is now a term used in the Maine tourism industry for a centrally located region that constitutes a large portion of the state of Maine. The Highlands are made up of Piscataquis and Penobscot counties. Formerly known as the Penquis region, the Maine Highlands name was adopted in the late 1990s to better describe the area as a tourism region. The Highlands lie within the New England-Acadian forests ecoregion.