acteristic feature of the region
and one noted with wonder by every early explorer. [6] These islands, if
near the land, are beautiful and smiling; if in the open sea, of rugged
grandeur; and mainland and island alike are inhabited by a numerous and
hardy race of fisher folk.

The tides within the Gulf of Maine have a very great rise and fall as
compared with other waters in this region. At the south of Cape Cod
tides are seldom over 4 feet in their range, but beginning at once at
the north of Cape Cod with a rise of from 7 to 10 feet these increase
quite constantly as they go eastward reaching about 28 feet in the
neighborhood of Passamaquoddy Bay, to touch their highest point in the
Bay of Fundy, where in many places is a rise and fall of 50 feet, and in
some few places tides of 70 feet are reported. These Fundy tides
probably are the greatest in the world.

This great ebb and flow of water serves to aid shipbuilding and the
launching of vessels as well as to carry the deep water far up into the
inlets of the coast and into the mouths of the rivers, making these
navigable for crafts of considerable size well into the land or up to
the lowest falls of the streams.

The climate here is one of extremes, and, lying as it does between 42 deg.
and 45 deg. north latitude, the region may be said to be cold. Apparently
the waters of the Gulf of Maine are not affected by any stray current
from the Gulf Stream, which passes at a considerable distance from its
mouth, thus doing little to temper the cold of this area either on land
or at sea. Whether these waters are cooled further by any flow from the
Labrador Current may be questioned.

The winters are long, usually bringing heavy snowfalls; and strong gales
are frequent during much of the fall and winter season. Perhaps the most
dangerous of these "blows" come out of the mountain to the north and
northwest of the gulf. Thus, in addition to the uncertainty of an
opportunity to set gear when once upon the fishing grounds, the winter
fishing here is not without its element of serious danger. While the ice
crop in northern New England never fails, yet, perhaps because of the
strong tidal currents of these waters, the principal harbors rarely are
closed by ice, or, if closed, for but a few days only.

While the summers are fairly mild and in certain parts of them even
extremely hot, fogs are heavy and virtually continuous during the "dog
days" (July 20 to September 1). when sou