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The gulf coast is predominantly rocky and scenic. Protected from the open Gulf Stream by Cape Cod on its southern end, its waters are colder and its coastline lacks the sandy beaches found along the coast of much of North America farther south. The underwater features of the gulf sculptured during the lower sea levels of the ice ages make the gulf a semi-enclosed sea bounded to the south and east by underwater banks. Undersea alleys reach depths of 1,500 feet (500 meters) while undersea mountains rise up 800 feet (266 meters) from the sea floor, almost reaching the surface.
The watershed of the gulf encompasses an area of 69,115 sq (179,008 kmē), including all of Maine, 70 percent of New Hampshire, 56 percent of New Brunswick, 41 percent of Massachusetts, and 36 percent of Nova Scotia. The watershed also includes a small portion (less than 1 percent) of the Canadian province of QuebecQuebec ( In Detail) ( In Detail) National Motto: Je me souviens (I remember CapitalLargest city Quebec City Montreal Area Total % fresh water 2nd largest(1st lgst prov. 1 542 056 kmē 11,5% Population Total (2004) Density Ranked 2nd 7 509 928 5,43/kmē Admi. Significant rivers that drain into the gulf include the St. JohnJohn River is a river, approximately 418 mi (673 km) long, in the U. state of Maine and the Canadian province of New Brunswick, forming part of the Canada-US border in two places along its length. The river drains an area of 54,500 kmē, of which slightly, St. Croix RiverCroix River is a river in northeastern North America, 62 miles (102 km) in length, that forms part of the International Boundary between Maine ( U. and New Brunswick ( Canada). It rises in the Chiputneticook Lakes near Vanceboro, Maine and flows south and, PenobscotThe Penobscot River is a river, 350 mi (563 km) long, in the U. state of Maine. It is the longest river in Maine. It rises in four branches in several lakes in the central Maine, and flows generally east. After the uniting of the branches, it flows south,, KennebecThe Kennebec River is a river, 150 mi (240 km) long, in the state of Maine in the northeastern United States. It rises in Moosehead Lake in northern Maine and flows southward past the cities of Madison, Skowhegan, Waterville, the state capital Augusta, an, PiscataquaPortsmouth, New Hampshire The Piscataqua River is a river in the northeastern United States. It is a 12 mi (19 km) long tidal estuary formed by the confluence of the Salmon Falls and Cocheco rivers, and flows southeastward, forming part of the boundary be and MerrimackThe Merrimack River (sometimes spelled Merrimac River is a 110-mile-long (177-kilometer-long) river in the northeastern United States. It rises in central New Hampshire at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers, flows southward into M rivers.
The cold waters of the gulf make it one of the most productive marine environments on earth, and it furnishes habitat for many diverese species including most notably the Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) and the American lobster (Homarus americanus), which grows to famously large sizes in the gulf.
thumb Hampton Beach, New Hampshire in late September
The gulf's relative proximity to Europe made it an early destination for European colonization. French settlers founded a settlment on St. Croix Island in 1604. English settlers founded the Popham Colony on an island in the Kennebec River in 1607, the same years as the Jamestown settlement.
In the 1960s and 1970s Canada and the United States had a dispute over fishing and other resource rights in the Gulf of Maine, specifically the Georges Bank region. This dispute was taken to the International Court of Justice, which delineated a boundary through the gulf in 1984.