Casco Bay

Casco Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Maine on the southern coast of Maine, New England, United States. Its easternmost approach is Cape Small and its westernmost approach is Two Lights in Cape Elizabeth. The city of Portland sits along its southern edge and the Port of Portland lies within.

European discovery

There are two theories on the origin of the name "Casco Bay". Aucocisco is the Abenaki name for the bay, which means 'place of herons' (sometimes translated as 'muddy').^[1] The Portuguese explorer Estêvão Gomes, mapped the Maine coast in 1525 and named the bay "Bahía de Cascos" (Bay of Helmets, based on the shape of the bay).

The first settlement in Casco Bay was that of Capt. Christopher Levett, an English explorer, who built a house on House Island in 1623-24. The settlement failed.^[2] The first permanent settlement of the bay was named Casco; despite changing names throughout history, that settlement remains the largest city in the Casco Bay region, now called the city of Portland, Maine

It was first reported in 1700 by Colonel Wolfgang William Römer, an English military engineer, that there were "as many islands as there are days in the year".^[3] The United States Coastal Pilot lists 136 islands,^[3] leading to the bay's islands being called that Calendar Islands based on the popular myth there are 365 of them. Later, Robert M. York, the former Maine state historian said there are "little more than two hundred islands".^[4]

History

War of 1812

Casco Bay is also home to abandoned military fortifications dating from the War of 1812 through World War II; during World War II, Casco Bay served as an anchorage for US Navy ships.

World War I

See Forts of Casco Bay below.

World War II

Since Casco Bay was the nearest American anchorage to the Atlantic Lend-Lease convoy routes to Britain prior to US entry into World War II, Admiral King ordered a large pool of destroyers to be stationed there for convoy escort duty in August 1941.^[5]

The State Historic Site of Eagle Island was the summer home of Arctic explorer Robert Peary.

Late 20th and early 21st centuries

Walter Cronkite stated that, in his opinion, the bay offered some of the best sailing in the world.^{[citation needed]}

In 2008, up-and-coming composers Peter J. McLaughlin and Akiva G. Zamcheck wrote a piece in four movements paying homage to the wreck of the Don in Casco Bay in 1941. The piece received critical acclaim from the Portland Press Herald and from fellow Maine composers.^[6]

Marine economy

Portland has a substantial fleet of deep-sea fishing vessels which offload their catch primarily at the Portland Fish Exchange. Numerous towns and islands serve as ports for lobster boats. Recreational fishing boats can also be chartered.

Marinas include

Chebeague Island Boat Yard on Great Chebeague Island;
Diamond Marine Service Inc. on Great Diamond Island;
Dolphin Marina and Great Island Boat Yard in Harpswell;
Handy Boat Service Inc. in Falmouth;
DiMillo's Old Port Marina, Maine Yacht Center and Portland Yacht Services in Portland;
Peaks Island Marina on Peaks Island;
Port Harbor Marina, South Port Marine, Spring Point Marina and Sunset Marina in South Portland;
Brewer's and Strouts Point Wharf Co. in South Freeport;
Royal River Boat Yard, Yankee Marina and Boatyard and Yarmouth Boat Yard in Yarmouth.

During the 1980s and 1990s, Bath Iron Works operated a dry dock in Portland Harbor to repair US Navy vessels, but that operation was discontinued.

Ecology

Predominant fish in the bay include mackerel, striped bass, and bluefish. Shellfish include lobsters, crabs, mussels, clams and snails. Harbor seals congregate on certain exposed ledges, and whales on occasion swim into the bay, and in a few instances into Portland Harbor. Seagulls, cormorants and varying species of ducks are the most common birds; more rarely osprey, eagles and herons have been sighted. Casco Bay contains bay mud bottoms and banks in some locations, providing important substrates for biota.

Transportation

The major islands in the bay are served by the Casco Bay Lines ferry service at the Maine State Pier in Portland. Peaks Island is served by a car ferry and, during the summer, sees 16 ferries a day. The other islands see fewer ferries and no car transport. Great and Little Diamond islands and Long Island are served primarily by the Diamond Pass run, which is popular with tourists in the summer months. Other services offered by Casco Bay Lines include a daily mailboat run, a cruise to Bailey Island, and a sunset run.

Other services such as water taxis are also popular alternatives to the ferry, but are limited to six passengers per boat.

Notable cities and towns

From south to north:

Islands

Major islands

Minor islands^[7]

Bangs Island
Basket Island
Barnes Island
Bartol Island
Basin Island
Bates Island
Bear Island
Ben Island
Big Hen Island
Birch Island
Bombazine Island
Bowman Island
Bragdon Island
Burnt Coat Island
Bush Island
Center Island
Clapboard Island
Coombs Islands
Cow Island
Crab Island
Crow Island
Dingley Island
Eagle Island
East Brown Cow Island
Elm Islands
French Island
George Island
Gooseberry Island
Goose Nest Island
Great Mark Island
Halfway Rock
Harbor Island
Haskell Island
Hope Island
Horse Island
Home Island
House Island
Inner Green Island
Irony Island
Jacquish Island
Jenny Island
Jewel Island
Junk of Pork
Lanes Island
Little Bustins Island
Little Chebeague Island
Little Birch Island
Little Diamond Island
Little French Island
Littlejohn Island
Little Mark Island
Little Moshier Island
Little Snow Island
Little Whaleboat Island
Lower Goose Island
Malaga Island
Mark Island
Ministerial Island
Moshier Island
Mouse Island
Outer Green Island
Overset Island
Pettingill Island
Pinkham Island
Pole Island
Pound of Tea
Pumpkin Nob
Ragged Island
Ram Island
Raspberry Island
Rogue Island
Sand Island
Scrag Island
Sheep Island
Shelter Island
Snow Island
Stave Island (home to Survivor Gabon winner Bob Crowley)
Stockman Island
Sister Island
Sow and Pigs
Sturdivant Island
Turnip Island
Two Bush Island
Upper Flag Island
Upper Goose Island
Upper Green Island
The Brothers
The Goslings
The Nubbin
Vail Island
Whaleboat Island
White Island
White Bull Island
Williams Island
Wood Island
Yarmouth Island

Lighthouses

Casco Bay is home to 7 lighthouses:

Cape Elizabeth Lights
Portland Head Light
Ram Island Ledge Light
Spring Point Ledge Light
Portland Breakwater (Bug) Light
Halfway Rock Light
Pocahontas (Echo Point) Light, the smallest lighthouse registered with the United States Coast Guard, it stands only 6 feet tall

Forts

Forts in Casco Bay:

Fort	Constructed ^{[citation needed]}	Location
Fort Gorges	1865	Hog Island Ledge, Portland, ME
Fort Levett	1898	Cushing Island, Portland, ME
Fort Lyon	1909	Cow Island, Portland, ME
Fort McKinley	1907	Great Diamond Island, Portland, ME
Fort Preble	1808	Southern Maine Community College/Spring Point Ledge Light, South Portland, ME
Fort Scammel	1808	House Island, Portland, ME
Fort Williams	1872	Fort Williams Park, Cape Elizabeth, ME
Battery Steele	1942	Peaks Island, Portland, ME

Newspapers

The newspaper for Portland, the largest city in Casco Bay, is the Portland Press Herald (Maine Sunday Telegram on Sundays). The Island Institute publishes The Working Waterfront, a free monthly newspaper reporting "the news of Maine's coast and islands." For Southern Maine news, obituaries and sports, The Forecaster is published weekly.

References

Caldwell, Bill (1982). The Islands of Casco Bay. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
Bibliography of Casco Bay

^ The Islands of Casco Bay, page 4
^ James Phinney Baxter (1893). Christopher Levett, of York: The Pioneer Colonist in Casco Bay. The Gorges Society.
^ ^a ^b The Islands of Casco Bay, page 3
^ http://abacus.bates.edu/pubs/mag/96-Winter/york.html
^ Heinrichs, Waldo (1988). Threshold of War: Franklin D. Roosevelt & American Entry into WWII. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 165. ISBN 0195061683.
^ http://cascobayfilms.blogspot.com/p/about-casco-bay.html
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-12-19. Retrieved 2010-08-09. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

43°38′00″N 70°02′58″W / 43.63333°N 70.04944°W / 43.63333; -70.04944

[1] The Islands of Casco Bay, page 4

[2] James Phinney Baxter (1893). Christopher Levett, of York: The Pioneer Colonist in Casco Bay. The Gorges Society.

[Islands3-3] The Islands of Casco Bay, page 3

[4] ttp://abacus.bates.edu/pubs/mag/96-Winter/york.html

[5] Heinrichs, Waldo (1988). Threshold of War: Franklin D. Roosevelt & American Entry into WWII. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 165. ISBN 0195061683.

[6] ttp://cascobayfilms.blogspot.com/p/about-casco-bay.html

[7] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-12-19. Retrieved 2010-08-09. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

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