Gulf of Maine

Gulf of Maine
French: Golfe du Maine
Gulf of Maine
Gulf of Maine is located in North Atlantic
Gulf of Maine
Gulf of Maine
Major features of the Gulf of Maine
LocationNortheast coast of the United States and southeast coast of Canada
Coordinates43°N 68°W / 43°N 68°W / 43; -68
TypeGulf
Part ofNorth Atlantic Ocean
River sourcesSaint John River, Penobscot River
Catchment area69,000 square miles (180,000 km2)
Basin countriesCanada and the United States
Surface area36,000 square miles (93,000 km2)
IslandsMount Desert Island, Fox Islands (North Haven and Vinalhaven), Isle au Haut, Grand Manan
SettlementsBoston, Portsmouth, Portland, Saint John

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. The gulf includes the entire coastlines of the U.S. states of New Hampshire and Maine, as well as Massachusetts north of Cape Cod, and the southern and western coastlines of the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, respectively.[1]

The gulf was named for the adjoining English colonial Province of Maine, which was in turn likely named by early explorers after the province of Maine in France.[2] Massachusetts Bay, Penobscot Bay, Passamaquoddy Bay, and the Bay of Fundy are all arms of the Gulf of Maine.

  1. ^ "About the Gulf of Maine". Gulf of Maine Association. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  2. ^ "Journal of the Senate" (PDF). State of Maine, HP1629, item 1, 123rd Maine State Legislature. March 6, 2002. Retrieved September 20, 2007. WHEREAS, the State of Maine is named after the Province of Maine in France...