Casco Bay

Bay in the Gulf of Maine, USA; area 518 sq km/200 sq mi. Casco Bay runs 32 km/20 mi from Cape Elizabeth (in the southwest) to Bald Head on Cape Small (in the northeast). It has fine protected deepwater anchorage, which led to Portland's maritime importance. It also has ledges, shoals, knobs, and 222 islands; several are heavily wooded while some have tall cliffs. Although many of these islands are uninhabited, the larger ones have summer colonies and hotels while some have year-round residential communities.

Peaks Island, a residential Portland neighbourhood reached by ferry, was a major playground for the 19th-century elite. Cliff Island was once home to the smuggler and pirate Captain Keiff. Great Diamond, Hog, and House islands have abandoned forts. Ragged Island was a summer home of Edna St Vincent Millay. Eagle Island was the summer home of Admiral Robert E Peary.

Other islands include Bailey and Orrs, in Harpswell town, and Great Chebeague, in Cumberland town. In addition to Peaks, Cliff, and Great Diamond, several other islands, including Cushing and Jewell, are parts of the city of Portland. Long Island (population (1990) 160), seceded from Portland and became a town in 1993. The Casco Bay islands have long been popularly known as the ‘Calendar Islands’, from the mistaken belief that there are 365 of them.