About the Bay
Cobscook Bay is a unique ecosystem; robust, complex, relatively healthy and readily defined. It is an estuary of exceptional conservation significance because of the diversity of species, the productivity of its waters, and the relative lack of degradation by pollutants or heavy development. The Bay has an extraordinary 24’ tidal range with a high-energy system of tidal currents and upwellings, and is home to:
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the highest density of nesting bald eagles in the northeastern U.S.
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a summer population of marine mammals, including finback, minke, and right whales.
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some of the last great scallop beds in the State of Maine.
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about 7,000 people in nine communities who are to a great extent dependent on the well-being of the Bay.
Cobscook Bay is characterized by a narrow opening to the sea and a very convoluted shoreline. Twice daily tides in the Bay average 24 feet, with occasional tides as high as 28 feet. According to marine scientist Peter Larsen, the average depth of water in Cobscook Bay is ten meters (32.8 feet) with its deepest point being 45 meters (147.6 feet). Sunlight can reach the bottom everywhere in the Bay. Approximately one-third of the area of the Bay is exposed to the air at low tide and another significant portion remains covered only by very shallow water.