Machias Bay is a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

in Washington County,

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

that opens into the

Gulf of Maine The Gulf of Maine is a large gulf of the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of North America. It is bounded by Cape Cod at the eastern tip of Massachusetts in the southwest and by Cape Sable Island at the southern tip of Nova Scotia in the northea ...

. The bay was the scene of the Battle of Machias — the first

naval battle Naval warfare is combat in and on the sea, the ocean, or any other battlespace involving a major body of water such as a large lake or wide river. The armed forces branch designated for naval warfare is a navy. Naval operations can be broadly d ...

of the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, occasioned by the British need for lumber for

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. Located at the mouth of the

Machias River The Machias River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed 2011-06-22 river in Maine, USA. It flows through Washington County in the eastern part of the state, from Fift ...

between the towns of Machiasport, Machias, East Machias, Whiting, and Cutler, it is separated from Little Machias Bay to the east by the Cutler Peninsula, from Little Kennebec Bay to the west by the Point of Maine, and from the

to the south by Cross Island and the Libby Islands. The bay extends roughly 7 mi. (12 km) and is 4 mi. (6 km) at its widest.

Notes

External links

Maine Coast Guides: Machias Bay
* http://machiasport.org/ Bays of Washington County, Maine Machias, Maine Bays of Maine {{Maine-geo-stub