geo.wikisort.org - Island

The islands of Massachusetts range from barren, almost completely submerged rocks in Massachusetts Bay (e.g. Abbott Rock, first on the list below) to the large, famous and heavily visited Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.

The recent history of Massachusetts' islands includes creation by flooding, connection to the mainland and subsumption into new land. Several islands existed as hills in western Worcester County and eastern Hampshire County until the 1930s, when the Swift River was dammed amid controversy to create the Quabbin Reservoir to meet demand for water in the Boston metropolitan area. Castle Island, Deer Island and Nut Island, all in Boston Harbor, have been attached to the mainland and remain islands in name only. Castle and Nut Islands now form the ends of peninsulas due to land reclamation, while Deer Island was attached to Winthrop Peninsula by the New England Hurricane of 1938. Governors Island and Apple Island now constitute the land underneath the runways and tarmacs of Logan International Airport and are included in this list despite their disappearance. Many of the Boston Harbor islands that are located under Logan's flight paths are part of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area.

Although most of the islands are in or near the Atlantic Ocean, several islands in western Massachusetts are found in the Connecticut River and a few others are surrounded by natural or man made lakes, ponds and wetlands.

Name	Municipality	Populated?	Terrain	Notes
Abbot Rock	Salem	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Abiels Ledge	Wareham	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Abnecotants Island	Nantucket	uninhabited	barren	minor island / wetland
Alden Island	Duxbury	inhabited?	residence	minor island / wetland
Aldridge Ledge	Boston	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Alleghany Rock	Vineyard Haven	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Allen Rock	Edgartown	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Allen Rock	Salisbury	uninhabited	barren	minor rock / wetland
Amrita Island	Bourne	inhabited	residential area
Angelica Rock	Fairhaven	uninhabited	barren	minor island, privately owned
Anuxanon Island	Lakeville	uninhabited	heavily forested
Apple Island	Boston	uninhabited	commercial use	part of the Logan Int'l Airport complex
Archer Rock	Marblehead	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Averills Island	Topsfield	uninhabited	forested	wetland
Babson Ledge	Gloucester	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Bachelor Island	Gosnold	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Badgers Rock	Salisbury	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Bagwell Island	Ipswich	uninhabited	barren	minor island / wetland
Bailey Flat	Westport	uninhabited	barren	minor island
Bakers Island	Salem	inhabited	residential area	isolated community
Bar Rock	Westport	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Bar Rock	Scituate	uninhabited	barren	minor island
Baret Island	Gosnold	uninhabited	barren	minor island
Barrel Rock	Cohasset	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Barstow Rock	Mattapoisett	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Bartlett Rock	Rockport	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Bartlett Rock	Marshfield	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Bartletts Island	Marshfield	inhabited	residential area	wetland
Barton Island	Gill	uninhabited	forested	minor island
Bass Ledge	Nantucket	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Bass Rock	Ipswich	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Bass Rock	Nahant	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Bass Rock[1]	Quincy/Weymouth	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Bassetts Island	Bourne	inhabited	residential area	isolated community
Bates Island	Webster	uninhabited	forested	minor island
Bates Rock	Scituate	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Bear Island	Foxborough	inhabited?	residence?	isolated (residence?)
Bear Island	Scituate	uninhabited	heavily forested	minor island
Bearse Rock	Hyannis	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Beaver Island	Rowe	uninhabited	heavily forested
Bemo Ledge	Gloucester	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Bench Rock	Barnstable	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Bents Ledge	Dartmouth	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Big Pine Island	Westport	uninhabited	forested?
Big Quamino Rock	Cohasset	uninhabited	barren	mid-size rock
Big Ram Island	Westport	uninhabited	barren	wetland
Big Rock	Tisbury	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Billingsgate Island	Wellfleet	uninhabited	barren	abandoned settlement
Bird Island	Marion	uninhabited	barren	minor island / has tower structure
Black Rock	Fairhaven	uninhabited	barren	minor island / has beacon structure
Black Rock	Nahant	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Black Rock	Beverly	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Black Rock	Gloucester	uninhabited	barren	minor rock / wetland
Black Rock	Gloucester	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Black Rock	Boston	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Blind Rock	Barnstable	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Blue Fish Rock	Marshfield	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Blueberry Island	Winchendon	inhabited	residential area
Boohoo Ledge	Manchester-by-the-Sea	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area	(Boston Harbor)	inhabited	National Recreation Area	U.S. Coast Guard station / compilation of islands
Boutwell Island	Groton	uninhabited	state forest	J Harry Rich State Forest
Boynton Island	Gloucester	inhabited?	residence?	wetland
Brace Rock	Gloucester	uninhabited	barren	large rock
Brant Island	Mattapoisett	inhabited	residential area
Brant Rock	Marshfield	uninhabited	barren	large rock
Briggs Rock	Westport	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Brimbles	Salem	uninhabited	barren	minor rocks
Brooklyn Rock	Fairhaven	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Brown Island	Marblehead	abandoned	private conservation land (Trustees of Reservations)
Browns Island	Newbury	uninhabited	barren	minor island / wetland
Brush Island	Oak Bluffs	uninhabited	barren	minor island
Brush Island	Cohasset	uninhabited	barren	minor island
*Buck Rock	Manchester-by-the-Sea	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Buckthorn Rock	Cohasset	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Bull Island	Gosnold	inhabited?	residence?
Bull Island	Essex	uninhabited	barren	minor island / wetland
Bumpkin Island	Hingham	inhabited?	state park	ruins / Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Burnham Rocks	Gloucester?	uninhabited	barren	minor rocks
Button Island	Hingham	uninhabited	forested	minor island / Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Calf Island	Boston	uninhabited	state park	ruins / Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Calf Islands	Boston	uninhabited	state park	ruins / compilation of islands / Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Canary Island	Hatfield	uninhabited	heavily forested
Canoe Rock	Westport	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Cape Cod	Barnstable	inhabited	thickly settled towns and villages, heavily forested, wetlands	forested, minor and major rock
Carr Island	Salisbury	uninhabited	wetland	State Wildlife Management Area
Carrick Island	Petersham	uninhabited	forested
Castle Rock	Nahant	uninhabited	barren	mid-size rock
Caswell Rock	Marblehead	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Cataumet Rock	Falmouth	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Cedar Island	Dartmouth	uninhabited	heavily forested	minor island / wetland
Cedar Island	Gosnold	uninhabited	barren	minor island
Cedar Island	Wareham	uninhabited	barren	minor island
Cemetery Island	Clinton	uninhabited	heavily forested
Chaces Island	Newbury/Newburyport	uninhabited	barren
Channel Rock	Barnstable	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Channel Rock	(Nantucket Sound)	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Chapman Island	Petersham	uninhabited	barren
Chappaquiddick Island	Edgartown	inhabited	residential area	large island
Checkerberry Island	Webster	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Children's Island	Salem	inhabited	Summer Camp, property of YMCA
Childs Island	Medfield	uninhabited	heavily forested	minor island / wetland
Chittenden Rock	Cohasset	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Choate Island
Chubb Island	Beverly	uninhabited	barren	mid-size rock
Church Rock	Barnstable	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Church Rock	New Bedford	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Clapps Island	Marion	uninhabited	barren	minor island
Clark Island	Otis/Tolland	uninhabited	state forest	Tolland State Forest
Clark's Island	Plymouth	inhabited	residential area
Cleveland East Ledge	Falmouth	location of Cleveland East Ledge Light	barren	minor rock
Cleveland Island	Mashpee	uninhabited	heavily forested	minor island
Cleveland Ledge	Mattapoisett	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Cobble Island	Webster	inhabited	residence	isolated residence
Coffin Rock	Falmouth	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Commissioners Ledge	Boston	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Common Island	Duxbury	uninhabited	barren	minor island / wetland
Cone Rock	Barnstable	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Coney Island	Salem	abandoned	light growth, small salt marsh	minor island
Coney Island Rock	Salem	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Conspiracy Island	Berkley	uninhabited	light growth	minor island
Cooks Island	Kingston	uninhabited	barren	minor island
Cormorant Rock	Salem	uninhabited	barren	mid-size rock
Cormorant Rock	Mattapoisett	uninhabited	barren	has beacon / minor island
Corn Island	Essex	uninhabited	forested	minor island / wetland
Corys Island	Westport	uninhabited	barren
Cove Ledge	Manchester-by-the-Sea	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Crescent Island	Foxborough	uninhabited	heavily forested	minor island
Cross Farm Hill	Ipswich	uninhabited	barren	minor island / wetland
Cross Island	Essex	inhabited	residential area	wetland / privately owned
Crow Island	Fairhaven	inhabited	residence	minor island
Crow Island Rock	Manchester-by-the-Sea	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Crowninshield Island	Marblehead	abandoned	small pine forest	Trustees of Reservations property
Cunningham Ledge	Boylston	uninhabited		minor island
Cuttyhunk Island	Gosnold	inhabited	residential area	large island
Dartmouth Rock	Dartmouth	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
David Rock	Gloucester	uninhabited	barren
Davids Island	Weymouth	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Davis Neck
Dead Neck	Barnstable	uninhabited	barren
Dean Island	Essex	uninhabited	forested	minor island / wetland
Decatur Rock	New Bedford	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Deer Island	Amesbury	inhabited?	commercial use?	minor island
Deer Island	Boston Harbor	uninhabited		Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Den Hill Island
Devils Foot Island	Falmouth	uninhabited	barren	minor island
Devilsfoot Island	Medfield	uninhabited	forested	minor island / wetland
Dighton Rock	Berkley	uninhabited	state park	minor rock / Dighton Rock State Park / Massachusetts' (official) state explorer rock
Dilly Island	Essex	uninhabited	barren	minor island / wetland
Dodge Rock	Rockport	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Dogfish Ledge	Westport	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Dole Island	Newbury	uninhabited	nat. wildlife refuge	minor island / wetland / Parker River National Wildlife Refuge
Dolphin Rock	Swampscott	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Dread Ledge	Swampscott	uninhabited	barren	minor rock
Dry Salvages	Rockport	uninhabited	barren	compilation of islands
Duck Island	Barnstable	uninhabited	barren	minor island / wetland
E Island	Auburndale	uninhabited	forested	minor island / wetland
Eagle Island	Salem	uninhabited	light growth	minor island
Egg Rock	Nahant	uninhabited	very light growth	major rock
Elizabeth Island	Arlington	uninhabited	forested	minor island
Fish Island	New Bedford
Fox Island	Waltham	uninhabited	forested	minor island
Gallops Island				Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Gerry Island
Georges Island				Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Gooseberry Island	Salem	uninhabited	light growth	minor island
Governors Island
Grape Island	Weymouth			Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Great Bank
Great Brewster Island				Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Great Egg Island
Great Flat
Great Island	Wellfleet	uninhabited		Great Island Trail [2]
Great Misery Island	Salem	uninhabited/abandoned	nature preserve (Trustees of Reservations)	minor island
Green Island				Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Gull Island	Gosnold
Gunning Island
Hales Island	Haverhill
Halfmoon Flat
Halfway Pond Island	Plymouth	uninhabited?	research natural area (The Nature Conservancy in Massachusetts)	minor island
Hangman Island				Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Hog Island	Essex	uninhabited?	spruce forest, wetlands	location site for The Crucible (1996 film)
Holy Island	Ipswich
House Island	Manchester-by-the-Sea
Kettle Island
Langlee Island				Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Little Brewster Island				Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Little Calf Island				Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Little Island
Little Misery Island	Salem, Massachusetts
Little Quabbin Island
Little Ram Island
Little Salvages
Long Beach Rock
Long Island				Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Lovell's Island				Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Marblehead Rock		uninhabited	large rock
Martha's Vineyard	Aquinnah, Chilmark, Edgartown, Oak Bluffs, Tisbury, West Tisbury	inhabited year round	residential/commercial	Well-developed summer attraction
Middle Brewster Island				Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Middle Ground
Milk Island	Rockport, Massachusetts
Monomoy Island	Chatham
Monohamsett Island
Moon Island	Quincy	uninhabited	training facilities	Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Morris Island
Mount Zion Island	Petersham	uninhabited	forested	in Quabbin Reservoir; access not permitted[3]
Muskeget Island	Nantucket	uninhabited	dunes, marsh	2 buildings; inaccessible by most boats
Nantucket	Nantucket	inhabited year round	residential, commercial	Well-developed tourist attraction
Nashawena Island	Gosnold	inhabited year round		Privately owned
Naushon Island	Gosnold	inhabited year round		Privately owned
Newton Island
Nixes Mate	Boston Harbor	uninhabited	granite rock	navigation aid / Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Nomans Land	Chilmark
Nonamesset Island	Gosnold
Nut Island				Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Onset Island	Wareham
Osterville Grand Island
Outer Brewster Island				Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Palmers Island
Park Island
Parker Hill Island
Pasque Island	Gosnold
Peddocks Island	Boston Harbor	inhabited	ruins	Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Penikese Island	Gosnold
Pierce Island
Pine Island
Plum Island	Newburyport, Newbury, Ipswich, and Rowley	inhabited	residential, commercial and wildlife sanctuary	Plum Island State Park at southern tip
Popes Island
Popponesset Island	Mashpee
Prince Head
Raccoon Island	Boston Harbor	uninhabited	gravel/rock	Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Ragged Island	Hingham	uninhabited	plants/trees	Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Rainsford Island				Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Ram Island	Salisbury	uninhabited	wetlands and trees	State Wildlife Management Area
Roger Island
Round Island
Sampsons Island	Barnstable, Massachusetts	uninhabited	scrub pine, oak, sand, marsh	Mass. Audubon wildlife sanctuary[4]
Sanford Flat
Sarah Island				Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Sea Ledge
Seal Island
Seymour Island	Plymouth (in Billington Sea)	uninhabited?	forested	minor island
Shag Rocks				Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Sheep Island[5]				Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Sipson Island	Orleans	inhabited		Pleasant Bay, Cape Cod, private
Sipson Meadow
Slate Island[6]				Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Snake Island				Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Southworth Island
Spectacle Island				Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Spinnaker Island
Stall Hill Island	Taunton
Stevens Island
Straitsmouth Island		location of Straitsmouth Island Light
Strong Island
Tenpound Island
Tern Island
Thacher Island	Rockport
The Graves	unincorporated area	inhabited	barren	major rock / privately owned / aid to navigation / Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Thimble Island	Boston	uninhabited	barren	Rock outcrop in the Dorchester Bay is the middle shaft of the old sewer tunnel under Dorchester Bay between Moon Island and Columbia Point[7]
Thompson Island	Boston	uninhabited, used by Outward Bound	forested, marshland	Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Tilden Island
Tinker's Island	Salem	inhabited	sparse growth
Tobys Island
Tuckernuck Island	Nantucket	yes, summer	scrub oak/heath	~35 houses, no roads or electricity
Uncatena Island	Gosnold
Veckatimest Island	Gosnold
Walker Hill Island
Washburn Island	Falmouth
Weepecket Islands	Gosnold
West Island	Fairhaven
Whites Flat
Wickets Island	Wareham
Woodbridge Island

See also

• Islands of the Northeast United States

References

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