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Cape Cod Bay Facts

Cape Cod Bay Facts
Cape Cod Bay is a bay in the Atlantic Ocean, located adjacent to Massachusetts in the United States. It is bordered to the south and east by Cape Cod, to the west by Plymouth County, and to the north by Massachusetts Bay. Massachusetts is bordered by several bays, including Cape Cod Bay, which contributed to it being named the Bay State. Cape Cod Bay was first explored by Europeans in 1524 when Giovanni da Verrazzano, an Italian navigator, discovered its existence. It is believed that Cape Cod Bay was likely a large freshwater lake during the last glaciation draining into Orleans Harbor and Bass River. Cape Cod Bay has a variety of healthy seafood in its waters.
Interesting Cape Cod Bay Facts:
Provincetown Harbor, located along the shores of Cape Cod Bay, was the first anchoring place of the Pilgrims on the Mayflower on their way to Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620.
There is a 252 foot high monument in Provincetown meant to commemorate the Mayflower Pilgrim's first landing in the United States (although it was not yet the United States at the time they landed).
Fish that can be found in Cape Cod Bay include blue-finned tuna, sand eel, striped bass, cod, bonito, mackerel, Pollock, haddock, and flounder.
Mammals that can be found in Cape Cod Bay include whales, dolphins, and seals.
In 1620 the Pilgrims tried to shoot a whale when they anchored in Provincetown but they were not successful.
Cape Cod Bay is popular with fishing charters during the fishing season. Fishing season runs from May to October. Fisherman can fish from shore, on private boats, or aboard deep sea charter boats.
Whale watching is a popular option for visitors to Cape Cod Bay.
The most popular fishing bait used in Cape Cod Bay is sea clams.
Cape Cod is getting smaller due to erosion, making the beaches along Cape Cod Bay appearing endless. The beaches are eroding at the rate of about one to two feet each year, with one eroding as much as ten feet a year.
Cape Cod Bay is connected to Buzzards Bay by Cape Cod Canal, which was built in 1914.
The maximum depth of Cape Cod Bay is 206 feet. The surface water of Cape Cod Bay encompasses 604 square miles.
Cape Cod Bay is shallower at the southern end.
The surface water's counter-clockwise pattern circulation helps to flush the area with nutrient-rich ocean water, contributing to the healthy marine environment and fish population.
Each year humpback whales migrate to Cape Cod Bay. They are there to feed on fish between April and December.
In 1970 Cape Cod Bay was designated a State Ocean Sanctuary.
There is roughly 300 miles of shoreline along Cape Cod Bay, with dunes, low bluffs, wetlands, and many beaches.
Cape Cod Canal is a major shipping route between New York and Boston.
Several species of endangered birds and mammals rely on resources in Cape Cod Bay, such as piping plovers, roseate terns, and the endangered North Atlantic right whale.


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