Penobscot Bay

Rockland, Maine

Penobscot Bay, inlet of the North Atlantic Ocean, on the coast of southern Maine, U.S., at the mouth of the Penobscot River. Lying 70 miles (110 km) northeast of Portland, it extends 35 miles (55 km) inland and is 27 miles (43 km) wide at its mouth. The bay includes many islands and sheltered harbours. The once-thriving lumbering industry, centred to the north at Bangor on the Penobscot River, used the bay as an outlet, but tourism is now the main economic activity; several state parks dot the coastlines and islands. There is also some commercial fishing, especially near the ocean.