Geography | |
---|---|
Location | Dukes County, Massachusetts |
Coordinates | 41°28′30″N70°46′0″W / 41.47500°N 70.76667°W |
Archipelago | Elizabeth Islands |
Area | 13.34 sq mi (34.6 km2) |
Administration | |
United States | |
State | Massachusetts |
County | Dukes |
Largest settlement | Village of Cuttyhunk(pop. 52) |
Demographics | |
Population | 75 (2010) |
The Elizabeth Islands are a chain of over 20 small islands extending southwest from the southern coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts in the United States. [1] They are located at the outer edge of Buzzards Bay, north of Martha's Vineyard, from which they are separated by Vineyard Sound, and constitute the town of Gosnold in Dukes County, Massachusetts.
The island's creation was caused by different gravels and soils entombed inside of glaciers. The glacial movement deposited much material as they melted, thus many small islands were formed. [2]
The islands were long known to and utilized by the Wampanoag and other indigenous peoples before European colonization. They utilized the islands for hunting and fishing. The Indigenous name, Pocutohhunkunnoh, meaning Lands End, was the inspiration for the name Cuttyhunk Island. [3]
Europeans first learned of the islands in 1602 when the English colonizer Bartholomew Gosnold sighted them on his way to Virginia. For three weeks, they built shelter and rested on the islands. [4] However, it was not until 1641, subsequent to the successful establishment of the first English North American colonies, that colonizers formally laid claim to and settled the islands in the name of the English Crown as part of the country's nascent imperial expansion. At this time they renamed the islands after Elizabeth I, who had been Queen of England when the islands had first been discovered by Europeans. [5] [6] They named Cuttyhunk Elizabeth's Isle. [7] King James the First gave the islands to the Council of New England because he did not care to have them. [8] In 1641, Thomas Mayhew the Elder, of Watertown, Massachusetts, bought the islands—along with Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard—from William Alexander, the Earl of Stirling. James Bowdoin and his family owned the islands for over 100 years beginning in the 1700s. [9] Finally the islands were bought by the Forbes family in the 1800s. [10]
Before the creation of the Province of Massachusetts Bay in 1691, the islands were part of the extinct Dukes County, New York. The first known European inhabitant was Francis Usselton, who had been banished at the time for making secret trades with the local Indians without consent from the governor.
Since the mid-1800s, the Forbes family, in the form of a family trust, own much of the island's property. [11]
The total land area of the islands is 34.55 km² (13.34 sq mi); and there was a permanent population of 75 persons as of the 2010 census, making it the smallest town in Massachusetts.
All of the Elizabeth Islands, except Cuttyhunk and Penikese, are privately owned by the Forbes family. [12] However, the Forbes family have other beaches open for public access including: Weepecket, Kettle Cove, West End Beach, Quicks Hole and Tarpaulin Cove. [13]
Stretching south-west from land's end at Falmouth, Massachusetts, the islands are:
The Elizabeth Islands |
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Major islands |
Minor islands |
Channels with strong tidal currents, known locally as holes, separate the islands from each other and the mainland. Currents of up to 6 knots (11 km/h) are driven by the different sizes and filling rates of Vineyard Sound to the southeast and Buzzards Bay to the northwest. At high tide, water flows from Buzzards Bay to the Vineyard Sound. Near mid-tide the water stops and reverses, filling the Bay at low tide.
Listed from northeast to southwest, the named channels are:
There are many bluefish and striped bass found in the waters near all the islands. The stripers are drawn in by the rocky coastline of the islands. The abundance of different fish also brings in many different kinds of birds that can easily find pods of topwater fish. [20]
There are many different sights to see across the islands. Some of the most popular include Nashawena Island’s Highland Cattle, Tarpaulin Cove Lighthouse, Gay Head Cliffs, the Naval Lookout Point on Cuttyhunk, and a plethora of wildlife. [27]
There are many birds found on Cuttyhunk who are the first birds migrating north in the spring and the last going south in the winter. This is because it is the last or first landmass in the bay. [28] There are wildlife habitats located on Penikese Island that people visit to observe the birds. [29]
On many of the public beaches and islands, it is popular to stop for a few hours and set up a picnic. People are also found snorkeling and swimming in the oceans around many of the islands. [30]
Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The name Cape Cod, coined in 1602 by Bartholomew Gosnold, is the ninth oldest English place-name in the U.S.
Dukes County is a county in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 census, the population was 20,600, making it the second-least populous county in Massachusetts. Its county seat is Edgartown.
Woods Hole is a census-designated place in the town of Falmouth in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. It lies at the extreme southwestern corner of Cape Cod, near Martha's Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands. The population was 781 at the 2010 census.
Gosnold is a town that encompasses the Elizabeth Islands in Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census, the town population was 70, making it the least populous town in Massachusetts. Most of the residents live in the island village of Cuttyhunk, an island on the southwestern part of the town. The largest island in the town by area, Naushon Island is owned by the Forbes family.
Falmouth is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 32,517 at the 2020 census, making Falmouth the second-largest municipality on Cape Cod after Barnstable. The terminal for the Steamship Authority ferries to Martha's Vineyard is located in the village of Woods Hole in Falmouth. Woods Hole also contains several scientific organizations such as the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), the Woodwell Climate Research Center, NOAA's Woods Hole Science Aquarium, and the scientific institutions' various museums.
Penikese Island is a 75-acre (0.117 sq mi) island off the coast of Massachusetts, United States, in Buzzards Bay. It is one of the Elizabeth Islands, which make up the town of Gosnold, Massachusetts. Penikese is located near the west end of the Elizabeth island chain.
Naushon Island is the largest of the Elizabeth Islands in southeastern Massachusetts. It is part of the town of Gosnold, Massachusetts, and is currently owned by the Forbes family. As of the 2000 census, the island had a permanent population of 30 people.
Cuttyhunk Island is the outermost of the Elizabeth Islands in Massachusetts. A small outpost for the harvesting of sassafras was occupied for a few weeks in 1602, arguably making it the first English settlement in New England. Cuttyhunk is located between Buzzards Bay to the north and Vineyard Sound to the south. Penikese Island and Nashawena Island are located to the north and east respectively.
Buzzards Bay is a bay of the Atlantic Ocean adjacent to the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It is approximately 28 miles long by 8 miles wide. It is a popular destination for fishing, boating, and tourism. Buzzards Bay is often considered the finest sailing location on the East Coast and is frequently compared in terms of sailing conditions to San Francisco Bay. Since 1914, Buzzards Bay has been connected to Cape Cod Bay by the Cape Cod Canal. In 1988, under the Clean Water Act, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts designated Buzzards Bay to the National Estuary Program, as "an estuary of national significance" that is threatened by pollution, land development, or overuse.
John Brereton was an English gentleman adventurer, clergyman, and chronicler of the 1602 voyage to the New World led by Bartholomew Gosnold.
Pasque Island is one of the Elizabeth Islands of Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States. It lies between Nashawena Island to the west and Naushon Island to the east. The island has a land area of 3.45 km2 and had a population of 2 persons as of the 2000 census. The island is part of the town of Gosnold, Massachusetts. It is owned by the Forbes family.
Nashawena Island is the second largest of the Elizabeth Islands of Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States. It lies between Cuttyhunk Island to the west and Pasque Island to the east. The island has a land area of 7.076 square kilometres and a population of 2 persons as of the 2000 U.S. Census. The island is part of the town of Gosnold, Massachusetts. Nashawena is a Wampanoag word meaning "middle island". Rock Island and Baret Island are two small islands located north of Nashawena.
Canapitsit Channel is a channel that runs from Cuttyhunk Harbor to the Vineyard Sound and separates Nashawena Island from Cuttyhunk Island, two of the Elizabeth Islands off Cape Cod, Massachusetts. It is one of four straits allowing maritime passage between Buzzards Bay and the Vineyard Sound. The others are Quick's Hole, Robinson's Hole and Woods Hole. Canapitsit is an Indian word meaning "current passage".
The Tarpaulin Cove Light is a historic lighthouse on Naushon Island, one of the Elizabeth Islands of southern Massachusetts. It is located in the town of Gosnold, Massachusetts. Built on the site of a light station first established privately in the 18th century, the current tower dates from 1891. A keeper's house built at the same time has not survived. The light is 78 feet (24 m) above Mean High Water, and its white light is visible for 9 nautical miles.
Quick's Hole is the strait in Massachusetts' Elizabeth Islands separating Nashawena Island from Pasque Island. It is one of four straits allowing maritime passage between Buzzards Bay and the Vineyard Sound. The others are Canapitsit Channel, Robinson's Hole and Woods Hole.
Robinson's Hole is the strait in Massachusetts' Elizabeth Islands separating Naushon Island from Pasque Island. It is one of four straits allowing maritime passage between Buzzards Bay and the Vineyard Sound. The others are Canapitsit Channel, Quick's Hole and Woods Hole. Robinson's Hole is located in the town of Gosnold.
Captain Bartholomew Gilbert was an English mariner who in 1602 served as co-captain on the first recorded European expedition to Cape Cod. His decisions resulted in that expedition's failure to establish a colony there.
Elizabeth Islands Military Reservation was a World War II coastal defense site located on Cuttyhunk Island and Nashawena Island in the town of Gosnold, Massachusetts.
Tarpaulin Cove is a bay in Dukes County, Massachusetts. It is located on Naushon Island 0.8 miles (1.3 km) east of Kettle Cove and northeast of Robinson's Hole in the Town of Gosnold.
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