Presque Isle Bay is a natural bay located off the coast of

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pen ...

. Its embayment is about in length, about across at its widest point, and an average depth of about . The bay is at an elevation of 571 ft (174 m) above sea level. It is bounded on the north and west by a recurved

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

that makes up

Presque Isle State Park Presque Isle State Park ( ) is a List of Pennsylvania state parks, Pennsylvania State Park on an arching, sandy peninsula jutting into Lake Erie, west of the city of Erie, Pennsylvania, Erie, in Millcreek Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania ...

. On the south, the bay is edged by the urban Erie shoreline, which hosts the Port of Erie Marine Terminal, as well as an assortment of parks, tourist attractions and marinas such as the Erie Yacht Club. Fishing, water skiing, swimming, and boating, are a few examples of common activities among visitors who come to appreciate this natural bay for its sheltered waters and captivating views of Erie’s historic neighborhoods and landmarks. A channel on the east provides a shipping lane into and out of

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...

. Cascade Creek, Garrison Run, Mill Creek, and

surface runoff Surface runoff (also known as overland flow or terrestrial runoff) is the unconfined flow of water over the ground surface, in contrast to ''channel runoff'' (or ''stream flow''). It occurs when excess rainwater, stormwater, meltwater, or other ...

drain the lands of the Presque Isle Bay Watershed into the bay.

History

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

Oliver Hazard Perry took command of America's Lake Erie naval fleet at Presque Isle in March 1813. By the end of July 1813, Perry had assembled the necessary crews and escaped a blockade of the channel exit by

Robert Heriot Barclay, Perry's British counterpart. With access to the lake, Perry led his fleet west to Put-in-Bay, Ohio, where the Battle of Lake Erie was fought in September 1813.

Recovery

After pollution of the bay caused by sewage and industrial waste forced an end to swimming and caused the appearance of tumors on brown bullheads and other fishes, Erie established the Erie Harbor Improvement Council in 1988 to seek remediation. Later called the Presque Isle Bay Public Advisory Committee, the group was instrumental in having the bay listed as one of the Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOC) in 1991. It then pushed for the establishment of a Remedial Action Plan (RAP) in 1993, which was updated in 1995 and 2002 to make key fixes with the goal of the resumption of swimming and fishing in the bay. In 2002, the bay became the first US AOC to be awarded Recovery Stage status. A ceremonial swim by 300 swimmers was scheduled for 28 June 2008 to celebrate the recovery of the bay.

References

External links

Presque Isle Bay Area of Concern
( EPA)
Presque Isle Bay and Bay Fishing (Fish USA)Presque Isle State Park
( PA DCNR) {{Authority control Bays of Pennsylvania Bodies of water of Erie County, Pennsylvania