Penobscot Bay (french: Baie de Penobscot) is an inlet of the
Gulf of Maine
The Gulf of Maine is a large gulf of the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of North America. It is bounded by Cape Cod at the eastern tip of Massachusetts in the southwest and by Cape Sable Island at the southern tip of Nova Scotia in the northeast ...
and
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 ...
in south central
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 ...
. The bay originates from the mouth of Maine's
Penobscot River
The Penobscot River (Abenaki: ''Pαnawάhpskewtəkʷ'') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 22, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Maine. Including the river's We ...
, downriver from
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
. Penobscot Bay has many working waterfronts including
Rockland Rockland may refer to:
People
*Per Bergsland, nicknamed Peter Rockland, one of three successful escapees from Stalag Luft III (the "Great Escape")
Places
;In Canada
*Rockland, Greater Victoria
*Rockland, Nova Scotia
*Rockland, Ontario
;In the Uni ...
,
Rockport, and
Stonington, and Belfast upriver. Penobscot Bay is between
Muscongus Bay
Muscongus Bay is a bay on the coast of Maine, United States, between Penobscot Bay and John's Bay. Muscongus was the name of an Abenaki village meaning "fishing place" or "many r largerock ledges." John Smith recorded the river in 1616 as Nusco ...
and
Blue Hill Bay
Blue Hill Bay is a bay lying to the west of Mount Desert Island in Hancock County, Maine, United States. Approximately long, its southern boundaries are set by Swan's Island and Placentia Island at its entrance; the town of Blue Hill lies at th ...
, just west of
Acadia National Park
Acadia National Park is an American national park located along the mid-section of the Maine coast, southwest of Bar Harbor. The park preserves about half of Mount Desert Island, part of the Isle au Haut, the tip of the Schoodic Peninsula, and ...
.
11,000 years ago, at the beginning of the
Holocene
The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togethe ...
epoch, the Gulf of Maine's sea level fell as low as 180 feet (55 m) below its present height. Penobscot Bay was then a continuation of Penobscot River that meandered through a broad lowland extending past present day Matinicus Island.
Penobscot Bay and its chief tributary, Penobscot River are named for the
Penobscot Indian Nation, which has continuously inhabited the area for more than ten thousand years, fishing, hunting and shellfish gathering in and around the bay and river. A part of the
Wabanaki Confederacy
The Wabanaki Confederacy (''Wabenaki, Wobanaki'', translated to "People of the Dawn" or "Easterner") is a North American First Nations and Native American confederation of four principal Eastern Algonquian nations: the Miꞌkmaq, Maliseet ( ...
, the Penobscot Indian Nation's present reservation includes Indian Island, north of Orono, Maine, and all the islands of Penobscot River above it. Ancient remains of their campsites dating back millennia have been found on the bay's shores and islands.
The bay was the site of a humiliating American defeat during the
Revolutionary War. A
Continental Navy
The Continental Navy was the navy of the United States during the American Revolutionary War and was founded October 13, 1775. The fleet cumulatively became relatively substantial through the efforts of the Continental Navy's patron John Adams ...
flotilla consisting of 19 warships and 25 support vessels was dispatched on July 24 to recapture the mid-coast 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 ...
from the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
who had captured part of the territory and constructed fortifications near the bay, naming the newly captured territory
New Ireland. The American besiegers became stalled in their assaults due to dissension between
Solomon Lovell
Solomon Lovell (1732–1801) was a brigadier general in the militia of Massachusetts Bay during the American Revolutionary War. He is best known for leading the land forces during the 1779 Penobscot Expedition, a disastrous attempt by Massachuset ...
and
Dudley Saltonstall
Dudley Saltonstall (1738–1796) was an American naval commander during the American Revolutionary War. He is best known as the commander of the naval forces of the 1779 Penobscot Expedition, which ended in complete disaster, with all ships lost. ...
, two of the expeditions commanders, and after a British flotilla led by
George Collier
Vice Admiral Sir George Collier (11 May 1732 – 6 April 1795) was an officer of the Royal Navy who saw service during the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary Wars. As commander of the fourth-rate shi ...
arrived on August 13, the American fleet fled, beaching and burning their ships in the face of a superior British force. All 44 ships were either destroyed or captured, in what proved to be America's worst naval defeat until
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...
, 162 years later.
[Bicheno, p.149]
There are many
islands
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
in this bay, and on them, some of the country's most well-known
summer colonies
The term summer colony is often used, particularly in the United States, to describe well-known resorts and upper-class enclaves, typically located near the ocean or mountains of New England or the Great Lakes. In Canada, the term cottage countr ...
.
Penobscot Bay Conservation Issues
Historic Water Pollution Management.
Penobscot Bay has been the receiving waters for sewage waste and industrial waste discharges from bay and river towns since the 19th century. Discharge treatment was primarily dilution until the mid 20th century when the federal government began requiring communities and businesses of all states to meet water pollution control standards.
Beginning with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948 where states were requested to evolve and enforce their own standards, federal water pollution regulation evolved in 1970 to require that any project requiring a federal permit must be certified to meet state standards, then expanded in 1972 to require projects to meet a host of federal standards. The law is now known as the Clean Water Act of 1972
On June 28, 1966, the State of Maine's Commissioner of Sea and Shore Fisheries, Ronald W. Green, ordered closure of the shellfish beds in the waters of Searsport and Stockton Springs, in upper Penobscot Bay, "due to the polluted condition of the water."
The US Department of the Interior's Water Pollution Control Administration and the
US Public Health Service
The United States Public Health Service (USPHS or PHS) is a collection of agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services concerned with public health, containing nine out of the department's twelve operating divisions. The Assistant S ...
then conducted a joint investigation of the lower Penobscot River and upper Penobscot Bay "to determine the sources of this pollution, the direction of travel of this pollution and the degree of economic injury involved."
In February 1967, the Water Pollution Control Administration (WPCA) published its findings as
"Report on Pollution - Navigable Waters of the Penobscot River and Upper Penobscot Bay" The investigation found the sewage from eleven towns, and effluents of thirteen businesses and one university facility were the chief sources of the pollution.
According to the report,"substantial economic injury results from the inability to market shellfish or shellfish products in interstate commerce because of pollution caused by sewage and industrial wastes discharged to the Penobscot River and upper Penobscot Bay area and action of state authorities." The WPCA noted that "accordingly the pollution of these navigable waters is subject to abatement under procedures described in Section 10 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended"
The WPCA report recommended specific water quality requirements for these pollution dischargers, and concluded if the identified pollution sources improved their waste treatment practices, the waters of the upper Penobscot Bay communities of Northport,
Searsport,
Stockton Springs
Stockton Springs is a town in Waldo County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,533 at the 2020 census. Stockton Springs is home to Fort Point State Park and Fort Point Light, both located on Fort Point, a peninsula on Cape Jellison.
H ...
, Penobscot, Castine,
Islesboro
Islesboro is a town in Waldo County, Maine, United States, comprising Islesboro Island and several smaller islands. The population was 583 at the 2020 census. It has a summer colony accessible by state ferry service from Lincolnville Beach thr ...
and
Belfast, Maine
Belfast is a city in Waldo County, Maine, Waldo County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city population was 6,938. Located at the mouth of the Passagassawakeag River estuary on Belfast Bay (Main ...
would again be available for commercial and recreational fishing, swimming, pleasure boating, industrial processing and cooling water, wildlife and navigation.
Penobscot Bay Fisheries
Early Commercial Lobstering: 1840s to 1870s.
Penobscot Bay was one of the first Maine
lobster
Lobsters are a family (biology), family (Nephropidae, Synonym (taxonomy), synonym Homaridae) of marine crustaceans. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on the sea floor. Three of their five pairs of legs ...
grounds exploited on a significant commercial scale. A
United States Fish Commission
The United States Fish Commission, formally known as the United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries, was an agency of the United States government created in 1871 to investigate, promote, and preserve the fisheries of the United States. In 1 ...
report "The Lobster Fishery of Maine" in th
1899 Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission,Vol. 19, Pages 241-265details some of these early ventures, as these excerpts reveal:
"In 1847 Captain Oakes purchased the smack Josephine, with which he began running to Johnson & Young's establishment, at Boston, in 1848, buying a portion of his lobsters in the Penobscot Bay region, where this fishery had just been started. The quantity of lobsters carried by him that year was 40,000.... Lobsters were so abundant at the Muscle Ridges, at this period, that four men could fully supply Captain Oakes with lobsters every trip. In the course of ten days each man would obtain between 1,200 and 1,500 marketable lobsters. In Captain Oakes' opinion, the Muscle Ridges have furnished the most extensive lobster fishery of the Maine coast. He ran to this locality until 1874."
"Capt. S. S. Davis, of South Saint George, states that about 1864, when he first began buying lobsters at the Muscle Ridges, three men, tending 40 to 50 pots each, caught all the count lobsters he could carry to market in his smack. He could load 5,000 lobsters at a time, and averaged a trip in 7 to 9 days. This traffic continued for six or seven years. In 1879, Captain Davis bought from 15 men In the same locality, and at times was obliged to buy also of others in order to make up a load."
"The fishery at North Haven began in 1848, but did not increase so rapidly at first as in sections farther west, as the smacks would only take the medium-sized lobsters, fearing that the largest would not be able to stand the trip. At Matinicus Island the fishing began in 1868. In 1852 the people on Deer Island began the fishery, and as the smackmen made frequent visits the business rapidly increased. The establishment of a cannery at Oceanville, about 1860, also caused a considerable development of the fishery. The fishery was started at Isle an Haute about 1855, and at Swan Island in the early fifties."
Penobscot Bay Conservation and Environmental Groups
Groups with chief focus on Penobscot Bay or parts thereof.
Coastal Mountains Land Trust
Friends of Harriet L. Hartley Conservation AreaPenobscot Bay WatchFriends of Sears IslandIslesboro Islands TrustMaine Center for Coastal Fisheries
Upstream Watch
Islands in Penobscot Bay
*
Isle au Haut
Isle au Haut () is a town in Knox County, Maine, United States, on an island of the same name in Penobscot Bay. The population was 92 at the 2020 census. Home to portions of Acadia National Park, Isle au Haut is accessible by ferry from Stoningt ...
*
Islesboro
Islesboro is a town in Waldo County, Maine, United States, comprising Islesboro Island and several smaller islands. The population was 583 at the 2020 census. It has a summer colony accessible by state ferry service from Lincolnville Beach thr ...
*
North Haven
*
Vinalhaven
*
Matinicus Isle
*
Criehaven
Criehaven is an alternative name for Ragged Island, an unorganized territory in Knox County, Maine, Knox County, Maine, United States. Criehaven was formerly a Plantation (Maine), plantation including Ragged Island just south of Matinicus Isle, Ma ...
*
Sears Island
Sears Island, known as Wassumkeag or shining beach by the indigenous Wabanaki tribes of northern New England, is located off the coast of Searsport in Waldo County, Maine, at the top of Penobscot Bay.
The island is the largest undeveloped, uni ...
*
Great Spruce Head
*
Nautilus Island
*
Little Deer Isle
Little Deer Isle is an island in Penobscot Bay, lying just north of the town (and island) of Deer Isle, of which it is a part. The island is served by Maine State Route 15 via the Deer Isle Bridge. The north end of the island is called Eggemoggin ...
*
Deer Isle
Deer Isle is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,194 at the 2020 census. Notable landmarks in Deer Isle are the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Stonington Opera House, and the town's many art galleries.
...
(
Deer Isle
Deer Isle is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,194 at the 2020 census. Notable landmarks in Deer Isle are the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Stonington Opera House, and the town's many art galleries.
...
,
Stonington, Mountainville, Sunrise, Sunset)
* Various minor islands in Knox, Waldo, and Hancock Counties; see
List of islands of Maine
This list primarily derives from the Maine Coastal Island Registry, a database of the 3166 coastal islands from the largest (Mount Desert Island) to the smallest islets and ledges exposed above mean high tide. Some notable inland freshwater island ...
Towns along the western side
![Penobscot Bay, Maine](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Penobscot_Bay%2C_Maine.jpg)
*
Saint George
Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...
*
South Thomaston
*
Owls Head
*
Rockland Rockland may refer to:
People
*Per Bergsland, nicknamed Peter Rockland, one of three successful escapees from Stalag Luft III (the "Great Escape")
Places
;In Canada
*Rockland, Greater Victoria
*Rockland, Nova Scotia
*Rockland, Ontario
;In the Uni ...
*
Rockport
*
Camden
*
Lincolnville
*
Northport
*
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
*
Searsport (
Penobscot Marine Museum
The Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport, Maine, United States, is Maine's oldest maritime museum and is designed to preserve and educate people regarding Maine's and Searsport's rich and unique maritime and shipbuilding history. It was founded in ...
)
*
Stockton Springs
Stockton Springs is a town in Waldo County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,533 at the 2020 census. Stockton Springs is home to Fort Point State Park and Fort Point Light, both located on Fort Point, a peninsula on Cape Jellison.
H ...
*
Prospect
*
Verona Island
Verona Island is a town located on an island of the same name in the Penobscot River in Hancock County, Maine, United States. The population was 507 at the 2020 census.
History
The island and community has undergone numerous name changes. I ...
Towns on the eastern side
*
Bucksport
*
Orland
*
Penobscot
The Penobscot (Abenaki: ''Pαnawάhpskewi'') are an Indigenous people in North America from the Northeastern Woodlands region. They are organized as a federally recognized tribe in Maine and as a First Nations band government in the Atlantic pr ...
*
Castine
*
Brooksville
*
Deer Isle
Deer Isle is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,194 at the 2020 census. Notable landmarks in Deer Isle are the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Stonington Opera House, and the town's many art galleries.
...
*
Stonington
Penobscot Bay panorama
References
Bibliography
*
External links
Report on Pollution: Navigable Waters of the Penobscot River and Upper Penobscot Bay in Maine* Maine Department of Conservation.
* Godfrey, John E.
as transcribed from The HISTORICAL MAGAZINE and Notes and Queries concerning The Antiquities, History, and Biography of America. (Third Series, Vol. I, No. II; Whole Number, Vol. XXI, No. II) February, 1872. (Morrisina, N.Y., Henry B. Dawson) pp. 85–92 (illustrated & annotated)
"Joshua Treat, The Pioneer Settler on Penobscot River."''The Bangor Historical Magazine'', Vol. IV, No. 9-10, pp. 169–176 April, 1889.
"The Farnsworth Museum""The Penobscot Marine Museum""Friends of Penobscot Bay"NGO dedicated to Penobscot Bay conservation, environmental stewardship, advocacy and history."
{{Authority control
Bays of Hancock County, Maine
Bays of Knox County, Maine
Bodies of water of Waldo County, Maine
Bays of Maine