Shag Rocks (Massachusetts)

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Shag Rocks are barren rocks situated 8 nautical miles [1] offshore of Custom House Tower in downtown Boston, in the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area and within the city limits of Boston. The rocks are northeast of Little Brewster Island and east of Great Brewster Island and have been the site of several shipwrecks. Boston Light on Little Brewster Island warns mariners to steer clear of the rocks. Public access is impractical. [2]

Custom House Tower

The Custom House Tower is a skyscraper in McKinley Square, in the Financial District neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. Construction began in the mid-19th century; the tower was added in the 1910s. Standing at 496 ft (151 m) tall, the tower is currently Boston's 17th-tallest building. As of 2016, it houses the Marriott Custom House Hotel.

Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area protected area

The Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area is a National Recreation Area situated among the islands of Boston Harbor of Boston, Massachusetts. The area is made up of a collection of islands, together with a former island and a peninsula, many of which are open for public recreation and some of which are very small and best suited for wildlife. The area is run by the Boston Harbor Islands Partnership. It includes the Boston Harbor Islands State Park, managed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Twenty-one of the 34 islands in the area are also included in the Boston Harbor Islands Archeological District.

Little Brewster Island island in the United States of America

Little Brewster Island is a rocky outer island in the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. It is best known as the location of Boston Light, one of only five remaining Coast Guard-manned lighthouses in the United States, and an important navigation aid for traffic to and from the Port of Boston. The island is situated some 9 miles (14 km) offshore of downtown Boston and has a permanent size of 3 acres (12,000 m2), plus an intertidal zone of a further 4 acres (16,000 m2).

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Hangman Island, also known as Hayman's Island, is an island in the Quincy Bay area of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. The island is a barren outcrop of bedrock, with a permanent size of half an acre rising to only three feet above sea level, plus an intertidal zone of a further 5 acres (20,000 m2). Access is by private boat only.

Green Island, also known as North Brewster Island, is a rocky outer island in the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area, to the north of Calf Island and Hypocrite Channel. The island has a permanent size of 2.5 acres (10,000 m2), plus an intertidal zone of a further 15 acres (61,000 m2), and is exposed from the east and northeast with little soil or plant life. The island is named after Joseph Green, a well-known merchant, who owned the island during Colonial times.

Aldridge Ledge is a small barren rock located in the South Channel, within the city limits of Boston, Massachusetts. The rock is southwest of Devils Back and Half Tide Rocks, west of Little Calf Island and Hypocrite Channel, and northwest of Calf Island.

The Hypocrite Channel is a small channel in Massachusetts Bay, located within the city limits of Boston. It's also located within the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. The channel runs between the islands of Half Tide Rocks, Calf Island, Little Calf Island, and Green Island.

Martin Ledge is small barren rocks that barely stick out of the waters of Massachusetts Bay, within the city limits of Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The rocks are east of Tewksbury Rock and Outer Brewster Island and southwest of Three and One-half Fathom Ledge.

Tewksbury Rock is a small, subsurface rock pinnacle located in Massachusetts Bay, within the city limits of Boston. The rock is northeast of Outer Brewster Island, west of Martin Ledge, south east of Green Island and far north of Boston Ledge. It is 15 feet (4.6 m) to 18 feet (5.5 m) below the surface of the water, but more than 45 feet (14 m) above the hard gravel floor of the bay.

Boston Ledge is a small barren rock in Massachusetts Bay, within the limits of the Town of Hull. The rock is far south of Tewksbury Rock and far northeast of Shag Rocks.

Barrel Rock is a small barren rock within the edge of Cohasset Harbor in Cohasset, Massachusetts, USA. The rock is north of Sutton Rocks, northwest of Quarry Point, south of Chittenden Rock, and east of Brush Island. It is located at 42°15′32″N70°47′6″W

Boston Light lighthouse in Massachusetts, United States

Boston Light is a lighthouse located on Little Brewster Island in outer Boston Harbor, Massachusetts. The first lighthouse to be built on the site dates back to 1716, and was the first lighthouse to be built in what is now the United States. The current lighthouse dates from 1783, is the second oldest working lighthouse in the United States, and is the only lighthouse to still be actively staffed by the United States Coast Guard, being automated in 1998 though there is still a keeper acting as tour guide. The structure was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964.

Bumpkin Island Tidal island in Massachusetts, United States of America

Bumpkin Island, also known as Round Island, Bomkin Island, Bumkin Island, or Ward's Island, is an island in the Hingham Bay area of the Boston Harbor. In 1902, Albert Burrage, a Boston philanthropist, had a summer hospital opened on the island for children with physical disabilities. During World War I the island was used by the U.S. Navy. Starting around 1940, the island was used as a facility for polio patients. However, the hospital closed during World War II and burned down in 1945. Since 1996, it is part of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. The island has an area of 30 acres (120,000 m2), plus an intertidal zone of a further 31 acres (130,000 m2). It is composed of a central drumlin with an elevation of 70 feet (21 m) above sea level, surrounded by a rock-strewn shoreline. A sand spit, exposed at low tide, connects the eastern end of the island to Sunset Point in Hull.

Calf Island, also known as Apthorps Island, is a windswept island situated some 9 miles (14 km) offshore of downtown Boston in the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. The island has a permanent size of 18 acres (73,000 m2), plus an intertidal zone of a further 16 acres (65,000 m2), and has a thin layer of soil that supports vegetation including wild cherry, beach plum, grasses, chives, and mock orange. Access is by private boat only.

Great Brewster Island island in the United States of America

Great Brewster Island is one of the outer islands in the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area, situated some 9 miles (14 km) offshore of downtown Boston. The island has a permanent size of 18 acres (73,000 m2), plus an intertidal zone of a further 49 acres (200,000 m2). Unlike the other outer islands, which are low-lying outcroppings of bedrock, Great Brewster is a drumlin which reaches a height of over 100 feet above sea level. It has vegetation cover consisting of Apple Trees, Pear Trees, Sumac, Beach Roses, Grasses and Common Reeds, together with a large Gull colony. The birds are aggressive during nesting season and access by humans, which is by private boat only, is discouraged during that time.

Outer Brewster Island island in the United States of America

Outer Brewster Island, also known as Outward Island, is one of the outer islands in the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area and is situated some 10 miles offshore of downtown Boston. The island has a permanent size of 20 acres, and consists of exposed bedrock covered by fertile soil bounded by a rocky shore with steep cliffs. It provides a nesting habitat for coastal water birds, including cormorants, gulls, common eider ducks, glossy ibis and American oystercatchers. The birds are aggressive during their nesting season and access by humans, which is by private boat only, is discouraged during this period.

Middle Brewster Island is a rugged outer island in the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area, located 9 miles (14 km) offshore from downtown Boston. The island has a permanent size of 13 acres (53,000 m2), reaches a height of 52 feet (16 m) above sea level, and is bounded by sharp cliffs and sunken crags. It has only sparse vegetation and serves primarily as a nesting site for gulls and cormorants. The birds are aggressive during their nesting season and access by humans is discouraged during this period. Access is difficult due to the lack of beaches and inlets, and is only accessible by private boat.

Little Calf Island is a small rocky island in the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area, some 9 miles offshore from downtown Boston, Massachusetts. The island has no vegetation and no history of human occupation. It is used for nesting by gulls and cormorants which can be aggressive during their nesting season. Access by humans is by private boat only, and is discouraged.

Spinnaker Island (Massachusetts) island in the United States of America

Spinnaker Island is an island in the Hingham Bay area of Boston Harbor in Massachusetts, USA. The island is part of the town of Hull, to which it is connected by a bridge, and is one of the few harbor islands that neither forms part of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area nor is considered within the municipal limits of the city of Boston.

Misery Islands

The Misery Islands are an 87-acre (350,000 m2) nature reserve established in 1935 in Salem Sound close to the Salem Harbor in Salem, Massachusetts. It is managed by the Trustees of Reservations. The islands are a part of the city of Salem, although they are much closer to the city of Beverly, in whose aquatic territory they lie.

References

  1. NOAA Chart 13270, scale 1:25,000, Boston Harbor
  2. "Island Facts: Shag Rocks". National Park Service. Retrieved April 21, 2010.

Coordinates: 42°19′49″N70°52′56″W / 42.33028°N 70.88222°W / 42.33028; -70.88222

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.