Elizabeth Islands

 

chain of small islands off Cape Cod that form the southern boundary of Buzzards Bay; SE Mass. Naushon is the largest island. Cuttyhunk Island was settled in 1641 and has a U.S. Coast Guard station. Most of the islands are privately owned.

The Elizabeth Islands
Islands listed in order from east to west
Nonamesset Uncatena Naushon Pasque Nashawena Penikese Cuttyhunk

The Elizabeth Islands are a chain of small islands extending southwest from the southern coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts in the United States. They are located at the outer edge of Buzzards Bay, north of Martha's Vineyard from which they are separated by Vineyard Sound, and constitute the town of Gosnold, Massachusetts in Dukes County. All of the Elizabeth Islands except Cuttyhunk and Penikese are privately owned by the Forbes family.

In 1641, Thomas Mayhew Sr. of Watertown, Massachusetts, bought the islands (along with Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard) from William Alexander, the Earl of Sterling. Before the creation of the Province of Massachusetts Bay in 1691, the islands were part of the extinct Dukes County, New York. The total land area of the islands is 34.55 km² (13.34 sq mi) and there was a permanent population of 86 persons as of the 2000 census.

The islands include:

• Naushon Island is owned by the Forbes family trust.
• The Weepecket Islands are a series of small islands owned by the Forbes family but publicly accessible. They were used as practice target for bombs, rockets, and machine guns from 1941 to 1957.
• Pasque Island is owned by a subset of the Forbes family. It is 1.5 miles long and covered in poison ivy. A shallow tidal creek cuts part way through the island.
• Nashawena Island is owned by a different subset of the Forbes family. It is 3 miles long and has grazing livestock.
• Penikese contains a reform school.
• Cuttyhunk is the westernmost island in the chain, and much of the island is publicly accessible. It is home to the majority of Gosnold's population.
• Nonamesset Island is the island nearest the mainland.
• Uncatena Island lies just northeast of Naushon Island

Holes with strong tidal currents (up to 6 knots) separate the islands from each other and the mainland. The currents are driven by the different sizes and filling rates of Vineyard Sound to the southeast and Buzzard's Bay to the northwest. At high tide, water flows from Buzzards Bay to the Vineyard Sound. Near mid-tide the water stops and reverses, filling the Bay at low tide. Woods Hole passage is the body of water separating Nonamesset Island from the mainland. Robinson Hole separates Naushon Island from Pasque Island. Quick's Hole separates Pasque Island from Nashawena Island. Canapitsit Channel separates Nashawena Island from Cuttyhunk Island. Nashawena, Cuttyhunk and Penikese shelter the body of water known as Cuttyhunk Harbor.

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