Nantucket Sound
Nantucket Sound is a roughly triangular area of the
Atlantic Ocean offshore from the
U.S. state of
Massachusetts. It is enclosed by
Cape Cod on the north,
Nantucket on the south, and
Martha's Vineyard on the west; 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.
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 near Nantucket Sound.
*
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
