Machias Seal Island

Machias Seal Island

Disputed island
View of the island from a skiff.
Geography
Location	border of the Bay of Fundy and the Gulf of Maine
Coordinates	44°30′10″N 67°06′10″W / 44.50278°N 67.10278°W / 44.50278; -67.10278Coordinates: 44°30′10″N 67°06′10″W / 44.50278°N 67.10278°W / 44.50278; -67.10278
Archipelago	Grand Manan Archipelago (disputed)
Total islands	1
Area	8 ha (19.8 acres)
Administered by
Canada
Province	New Brunswick
Claimed by
Canada
Province	New Brunswick
United States
State	Maine
Demographics
Population	2 (ongoing rotation of Canadian Coast Guard lighthouse keepers; population increases in the summer with University of New Brunswick researchers and a Canadian Wildlife Service observer) (as of 1995)

Machias Seal Island is an island in the Gulf of Maine, about 16 km (9.9 mi) southeast from Cutler, Maine, and 19 km (11.8 mi) southwest of Southwest Head, New Brunswick on Grand Manan Island. It is a neighbour to North Rock. Sovereignty of the island is disputed. Since both Canada and the United States claim sovereignty, anyone born here can claim dual citizenship. The Canadian Coast Guard continues to staff a lighthouse on the island; the first lighthouse was constructed there in 1832.

The relationship of Machias Seal Island to the Grand Manan archipelago is a source of some dispute among geologists. The island is considered to be a possible continuation of the series of exposed shoals, rocks, and islets strewn south and west of Grand Manan Island. The deeper Grand Manan Channel lies to the north and west of the island, separating it from the coast of Washington County, Maine.

Machias Seal Island is a barren island and devoid of trees. Because of its location at the boundary between the Gulf of Maine and the Bay of Fundy, Machias Seal Island is fog-bound for many days of the year. It is also a sanctuary for seabirds such as Atlantic puffins, razorbills, common murres, common and Arctic terns, Leach's storm-petrels, and common eiders.