Nantucket Sound is a roughly triangular area of the Atlantic Ocean offshore from the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It is 30 miles (48 km) long and 25 miles (40 km) wide, and is enclosed by Cape Cod on the north, Nantucket on the south, and Martha's Vineyard on the west.[1] Between Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard it is connected to the Vineyard Sound. Ports on Nantucket Sound include Nantucket and Hyannis, Massachusetts.
Nantucket Sound possesses significant marine habitat for a diversity of ecologically and economically important species. "The Sound" has particular significance for several federally protected species of wildlife and a variety of commercially and recreationally valuable fisheries.
The Sound is located at a confluence of the cold Labrador currents and the warm Gulf Stream. This creates a unique coastal habitat representing the southern range for Northern Atlantic species and the northern range for Mid-Atlantic species. Nantucket Sound has a lot of biological diversity and contains habitats that range from open sea to salt marshes, as well as warm-water beaches on the Cape and Islands coasts.
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Future
A proposal by Cape Wind to construct the first offshore wind farm in the United States has been met with controversy because of its location in Nantucket Sound.[2]
See also
- Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound -- 501(c)(3) nonprofit environmental organization dedicated to the long-term preservation of Nantucket Sound
- Cape Wind -- Proposed Off-Shore Wind Project
- The Steamship Authority -- providing ferry service in the Sound
- Wind Over Water -- A documentary film about the wind farm proposed for Nantucket Sound.
References
External links
Coordinates: 41°20′0″N 70°14′58″W / 41.33333°N 70.24944°W
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