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| Massachusetts Bay | |
|---|---|
Bays of Massachusetts | |
| Location | United States |
| Coordinates | 42°22′30″N70°44′58″W / 42.37500°N 70.74944°W /42.37500; -70.74944 |
| Ocean/sea sources | Atlantic Ocean |
| Basin countries | |
Massachusetts Bay is abay on theGulf of Maine that forms part of the central coastline ofMassachusetts.
The bay extends fromCape Ann on the north toPlymouth Harbor on the south, a distance of about 42 miles (68 km). Its northern and southern shores incline toward each other through the entrance toBoston Harbor, where they are about five miles apart. The depth from the base of the triangle to Boston Harbor is about 21 miles (34 km). The westmost point of the bay is at the city ofBoston.
The northern shore of Massachusetts Bay is rocky and irregular, but the southern shore is low, marshy, and sandy. Along the shores are a number of capes and headlands, and off the coast a number of small islands, especially in the entrance to Boston Harbor. The principal inlets are: on the north coast,Gloucester Harbor,Nahant Bay,Salem Harbor,Marblehead Harbor, andLynn Harbor, and on the west,Boston Harbor,Dorchester Bay, andQuincy Bay (the two latter being part of the Outer Boston Harbor), and on the south coast,Hingham Bay. Massachusetts Bay is itself part of theGulf of Maine, which extends fromNova Scotia south toCape Cod Bay. Cape Cod Bay is sometimes considered to be part of Massachusetts Bay. Under this interpretation, the name "Massachusetts Bay" denotes the entire rectangular area of ocean between Cape Ann andCape Cod.
In 1994 the Massachusetts Bay National Estuary Program's Shellfish Bed Restoration Program grew out of the Bluefish River restoration project in Duxbury Massachusetts. The Mass CZM'S Southshore Regional Coordinator, Robert L. Fultz brought together local, regional, state and federal partners to complete this project. The program was then expanded for the entire Mass Bays program and adopted by the Gulf of Maine National Estuary Program. The Shellfish Program's goal was to address coastal non-point source pollution by restoring high visibility nearshore shellfish beds.It's success was based on recognizing that environmental restoration required a partnership of fragmented governmental jurisdictions, expertise and resources. The program has morphed into the Coastal Pollution Remediation Program (CPR) and Mass Bay Estuary Program funding regional staff engaged in coastal environmental restoration.
The Massachusetts Bay Disposal Site in deep water off the coast has been used forocean dumping, to dispose of munitions, dredged material, rock andconstruction debris and sunken vessels.[1]Chemical warfare munitions were dumped between 1919 and 1970, and hundreds of thousands of tons of surplus artillery and munitions were dumped after World War II. The majority later washed up on shore. Most of them are inertunexploded ordnance, but occasionally they are live. Fishermen have brought a torpedo intoProvincetown, a depth charge intoGloucester, and mustard munitions intoNew Bedford.[2]