Great Wass Island (approx. 1700 acres) lies in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

off the coast of the State of

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

, United States. On the mainland is Jonesport in Washington County. The island is 5 mi (8 km) long, 1.5 mi (2.5 km) wide and it is the biggest island in the Great Wass Archipelago, which contains over 43 islands extending off the coast from Jonesport. Great Wass Island is connected with a bridge to Beals Island, which is then connected to the mainland. Head Harbor Island and Steels Harbor Island lie close to the east. The Great Wass Island Preserve is in the island. The interior of Great Wass Island supports coastal Maine's largest stand of

jack pine Jack pine (''Pinus banksiana'') is an eastern North American pine. Its native range in Canada is east of the Rocky Mountains from the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories to Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, and the north-central and ...

, other typical plants are bakeapple (''

Rubus chamaemorus ''Rubus chamaemorus'' is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae, native to cool temperate regions, alpine and arctic tundra and boreal forest. This herbaceous perennial produces amber-colored edible fruit similar to the blackbe ...

''), deer-hair

sedge The Cyperaceae are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges. The family is large, with some 5,500 known species described in about 90 genera, the largest being the "true sedges" genus ''Carex'' wit ...

(''

Trichophorum cespitosum ''Trichophorum cespitosum'', commonly known as deergrass or tufted bulrush, is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family. It was originally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1753 as ''Scirpus cespitosus'', but was trans ...

''), and dragon's mouth orchid (''

Arethusa bulbosa ''Arethusa bulbosa'', commonly called dragon's mouth orchid, is the only species in the orchid genus ''Arethusa''. The genus is named after a naiad of Greek mythology. This monotypic genus is abbreviated Aret in trade journals. This terrestria ...

''). The island is part of the Town of Beals, in Washington County.

References

Columbia Gazetteer of North America
2000. Islands of Washington County, Maine Protected areas of Washington County, Maine Islands of Maine Coastal islands of Maine {{maine-geo-stub

See also

References