Gulf of Maine

The Gulf of Maine (French: Golfe du Maine) is a large gulf of the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of North America.

It is delineated by Cape Cod at the eastern tip of Massachusetts in the southwest and Cape Sable Island at the southern tip of Nova Scotia in the northeast. It 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.

Both Massachusetts Bay and the Bay of Fundy are included within the Gulf of Maine system. As such, the Gulf of Maine is also home to the highest tidal variations on the planet (see Bay of Fundy for further information).

The coastline of the Gulf of Maine is predominantly rocky and scenic; the only significant coastal developments are located in the Boston, Portsmouth, Portland and Saint John metropolitan areas. The effects of glaciation are responsible for stripping sedimentary soil away from the coastline, therefore the gulf lacks the sandy beaches found to the south along the Eastern Seaboard. The underwater features of the seabed sculptured during the lower sea levels of the ice ages make the gulf a semi-enclosed sea bounded to the south and east by underwater banks. Georges Bank in particular, on its southern end, protects the Gulf of Maine waters from the Gulf Stream. Gulf of Maine waters are more strongly influenced by the Labrador Current, making the gulf waters significantly colder and more nutrient-rich than those found to the south. Undersea valleys in the central basin can reach depths of 1,500 feet (500 m) while undersea mountains rise up 800 feet (266 m) from the sea floor, almost reaching the surface in some locations, or even exceeding it, creating islands.

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