Saco Bay facts for kids
Saco Bay is a curved bay on the Atlantic coast of Maine in the United States. It's part of the larger Gulf of Maine. The name "Saco" comes from a map made in 1525 by the Spanish explorer Esteban Gómez. He called the bay Bahio de Saco, which means "Bay of the Sack."
Saco Bay is about 10 miles (16 km) wide. It stretches from Fletcher Neck (the Biddeford Pool area) and the mouth of the Saco River in York County. It goes north to the Scarborough River and Prouts Neck in Scarborough, Cumberland County, Maine. This is about 13 miles (19 km) southwest of Portland. The shoreline of Saco Bay has Maine's biggest sand beach and salt marsh system. It also has the longest continuous stretch of beach in the state.
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Saco Bay's Amazing Ecosystem
Saco Bay is home to many different plants and animals. It's a really important natural area.
Scarborough Marsh: A Birdwatcher's Paradise
In the 1800s, a railroad bridge was built. This bridge closed off the Little River Inlet. Before this, the Pine Point area in Scarborough was a barrier island. It was the only one in Maine!
Behind Pine Point is the Scarborough Marsh. This marsh is a special wildlife area managed by the state. It makes up 15% of all the tidal marsh land in Maine. It's also the largest continuous marsh in the state. The state owns and manages a 3,100-acre (12.5 km2) reserve here. About 2,700 acres (10.9 km2) of this is salt marsh. The rest is made up of other types of wetlands and dry land.
Scarborough Marsh is a fantastic place for birdwatching. You can find 72% of all the water-loving birds that live in Maine right here! The marsh is also very close to two important islands where seabirds nest. It's considered a vital home for endangered piping plovers and least terns. The Maine Audubon Society has a center at the marsh. Visitors can go on hikes or rent a canoe to explore the marsh by water.
Underwater Life and Island Sanctuaries
The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service has named Saco Bay an "essential fish habitat." This means it's a very important place for at least fifteen types of fish. These include Atlantic salmon, hake, halibut, herring, and scallops.
Stratton Island is also in Saco Bay. It's a wildlife sanctuary owned and run by the National Audubon Society. Many types of terns nest on this island. Arctic, common, and roseate terns regularly nest there. In 2005, least terns also started nesting on the island for the first time.
How Sand Moves and Changes the Coastline
The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACOE) first thought that the beach sand came from an old underwater glacier. So, in 1866, they built rock walls called jettys on both sides of the Saco River's mouth. These jetties were meant to protect the river channel from sand. The north jetty was made longer in 1897, 1930, and 1938. It was also made taller at different times until 1969.
However, it turns out the main source of sand for the beaches is actually the Saco River itself. Sand mostly moves north along the shore due to something called Longshore drift. Around 1960, another jetty was built on the south side of the Scarborough River's mouth. This was also to protect it from sand.
It wasn't until 1992 that the USACOE realized there wasn't a natural way for new sand to come into the area. Because of this, the beach erosion is worst at Camp Ellis in Saco. This is at the south end of the system. The Saco jetty stops sand from reaching the shore naturally there. Meanwhile, Pine Point is actually growing. It gets sand from the Saco River and also from sand that erodes from Camp Ellis and other parts of the bay to its south.
Much of the inner shore of the bay is within the town of Old Orchard Beach. This is Maine's biggest resort beach community. The way the larger Gulf of Maine is shaped means that warm ocean currents stay far offshore. The water closer to the shore flows from north to south. This water comes from the Labrador Current, which starts from the glaciers in Greenland. This makes most of Maine's coastal waters very cold.
But Saco Bay is different! It's located further west, and it gets inland water from the Saco River. Plus, the local water flow in the bay is from south to north. This combination makes Saco Bay have the warmest water for swimming in Maine. Even so, summer water temperatures can still drop into the 50s (Fahrenheit).
A Look Back in Time
Saco Bay has a rich history, with explorers and settlers visiting its shores long ago.
Early Maps and Explorers
The bay was mapped again in 1605 by the French explorer Samuel de Champlain. He called it the Baie de Chouacouët. His map of the bay and the river's mouth is considered one of his best.
First English Settlements
In 1616, Sir Ferdinando Gorges sent Richard Vines to start a settlement in New England. Vines spent the winter of 1616–1617 on Saco Bay. At that time, a sickness was spreading among the Native Americans. Since Vines was a doctor, he helped care for the sick people in the area.
In 1630, the Plymouth Company gave Richard Vines and John Oldham each a piece of land on the Saco River. This land was four miles (6 km) wide along the sea and stretched eight miles (13 km) inland.
Winslow Homer's Painting of Saco Bay
Saco Bay or Sunset, Saco Bay is a famous painting by Winslow Homer. It shows a view of the bay from Checkley Point, which is on the southwest side of Prouts Neck. Winslow Homer said he worked on this painting for about 10 years! He finished it only three days before it was sent for an exhibition. The painting was first shown in 1897 at the Society of American Artists in New York City. Today, you can see this beautiful painting at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute.
