Gulf of Maine · MA
Georges Bank
A great undersea plateau between Cape Cod and Nova Scotia.
- Size
- About 149 by 75 miles
- Dry land until
- About 12,000 years ago
- Split with Canada
- 1984
Then
- 12,000 years ago
The bank is part of the North American mainland.
- 1600s onward
Cod and halibut on the bank support a fishery for more than 400 years.
- 1976–1982
Ten exploratory oil wells are drilled; none succeed, and both countries later ban drilling.
- 1984
The World Court divides the fishing grounds between the United States and Canada.
Now
Georges Bank separates the Gulf of Maine from the open Atlantic. It is hundreds of feet shallower than the gulf, which stirs up the rich waters that made it famous.