Little Narragansett Bay is an inlet of 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 ...

and an

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

of the

Pawcatuck River The Pawcatuck River is a river in the US states of Rhode Island and Connecticut flowing approximately .U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 There are eight dam ...

on the

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

–

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

state line. It is sheltered by a curving peninsula, known as

Napatree Point Napatree Point in Rhode Island, often referred to simply as Napatree, is a long sandy spit created by a geologic process called longshore drift. Up until the Hurricane of 1938, Napatree was sickle-shaped and included a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) long ...

. At the base of Napatree Point is the site of the resort village of

Watch Hill, Rhode Island Watch Hill is an affluent coastal neighborhood and census-designated place in the town of Westerly, Rhode Island. The population was 154 at the 2010 census. It sits at the most-southwestern point in all of Rhode Island. It came to prominence in t ...

. The bay also contains the islands of Sandy Point, Elihu Island, and Barn Island. Sandy Point was once part of Napatree Point until the two were separated by the

Hurricane of 1938 The 1938 New England Hurricane (also referred to as the Great New England Hurricane and the Long Island Express Hurricane) was one of the deadliest and most destructive tropical cyclones to strike Long Island, New York, and New England. The stor ...

. Since that time it has migrated north and west, and changed orientation. It now begins about 1/4 mile east of Stonington Borough, and runs approximately miles east-southeast.

History

In 1662, Connecticut's royal charter delineated the easternmost border of the state as

Narragansett Bay Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound covering , of which is in Rhode Island. The bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor and includes a small archipelago. Sm ...

. However, a 1663 royal charter defined the western border of Rhode Island as the Pawcatuck River, which lies west of Narragansett Bay. In order to resolve the conflicting definitions, King Charles renamed the Pawcatuck River to "Little Narragansett Bay". Connecticut disputed the boundaries, leading to

Conservator of the Peace In ancient British customs, Conservators of the Peace (Latin: ''Custodes pacis''), or Wardens of the Peace, were individuals who had a special charge, by virtue of their office, to see that the King's peace was kept. England The 18th century lega ...

being appointed in 1665. In 1703, a Board of Commissioners upheld the Pawcatuck River as the border between Rhode Island and Connecticut. The issue was finally resolved in 1840 when a joint survey was conducted and Connecticut ratified the boundaries.

Environmental issues

The bay has a large infestation of ''

Cladophora ''Cladophora'' is a genus of reticulated filamentous Ulvophyceae (green algae). The genus ''Cladophora'' contains many species that are very hard to tell apart and classify, mainly because of the great variation in their appearances, which is a ...

'' algae, which gives off a sulfurous odor in certain conditions. The algae is also ruinous to native sea plants and therefore to the fish and shellfish such as the native

quahog The hard clam (''Mercenaria mercenaria''), also known as the round clam, hard-shell (or hard-shelled) clam, or the quahog, is an edible marine bivalve mollusk that is native to the eastern shores of North America and Central America from Prince E ...

Sport

The bay is a renowned spot for

sea kayaking A sea kayak or touring kayak is a kayak developed for the sport of paddling on open waters of lakes, bays, and the ocean. Sea kayaks are seaworthy small boats with a covered deck and the ability to incorporate a spray deck. They trade off the ma ...

. Shellfishing has been banned in various parts of the bay since 1991 due to contamination issues and for the entire bay in 2016 and 2017.

References

Bays of Connecticut Bays of Rhode Island Estuaries of Rhode Island Estuaries of Connecticut Bodies of water of New London County, Connecticut Bodies of water of Washington County, Rhode Island Narragansett Bay {{RhodeIsland-geo-stub