Buzzards Bay
| Buzzards Bay | |
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Map of Buzzards Bay
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| Location | Massachusetts |
| Coordinates | 41°34′N 70°46′W / 41.567°N 70.767°WCoordinates: 41°34′N 70°46′W / 41.567°N 70.767°W |
| Etymology | Named after osprey that were mistakenly called "buzzards" |
| Part of | Atlantic Ocean |
| Max. length | 28 mi (45 km) |
| Max. width | 8 mi (13 km) |
| Surface area | 250 sq mi (650 km2) |
| Average depth | 36 ft (11 m) |
| Settlements | New Bedford, Massachusetts |
Buzzards Bay is a bay of the Atlantic Ocean adjacent to the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It is approximately 28 miles (45 kilometers) long by 8 miles (12 kilometers) wide. It is a popular destination for fishing, boating, and tourism. 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 State 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.
It is surrounded by the Elizabeth Islands on the south, by Cape Cod on the east, and the southern coasts of Bristol and Plymouth counties in Massachusetts to the northwest. To the southwest, the bay is connected to Rhode Island Sound. The city of New Bedford, Massachusetts is a historically significant port on Buzzards Bay; it was the world's most successful whaling port during the early- and mid-19th century.
Buzzards Bay was created during the latter portion of the epoch through the interplay of glacial and oceanic processes. Beginning fifty thousand to seventy thousand years ago, the edges of the continental ice sheet covering much of North America began to fluctuate, leaving moraines to mark the former extent of the receded ice. One such moraine forms Cape Cod, which is most of the eastern shoreline of Buzzards Bay.
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