10 



BIOLOGICAL REPORT 31 



Table 1.1. Physiographic features of the Buzzards 

 Bay system. 



Feature 



Area/ 

 dimension 



Source 3 



•1, SAIC 1991, 2, Hankin el al 1985, 3, Buzzards Bay Project 1990. 



4. Signell 1987, 5, Aubrey Consulting Inc 1991, 6, modified for Falmouth 



area in watershed 

 Tidal flat area has not been subtracted from open water or embayment 



areas 



Table 1.2. Watershed and surface area of 

 representative North American bays 



Chesapeake Bay" 166,000 11,400 15 



San Francisco Bay" 153,000 1,240 123 



Delaware Bay 3 33,000 1,870 18 



Narragansett Bay 4,613 427 11 



Buzzards Bay" 1,104 550 2_ 



■Bumpus 1973 

 b Conomos et al 1985 

 =N0AA/EPA1989 

 "Buzzards Bay Project 1989 



Table 1.3. Dimensions of the major embayments of 

 Buzzards Bay Adapted from Costa et al. 1994. 



Acushnet River 10.7 12,050 2,000 



Aliens Pond 8 3,740 180 



Apponagansett Bay 2.9 5,710 940 



AucootCove 1.3 1,280 1,020 



Brant Island Cove 3 1,340 360 



Buttermilk Bay 2.2 3,800 960 



ClarksCove 2 9 2,380 1,270 



Hens Cove 0.3 2,650 410 



Marks Cove 0.4 1,230 410 



Mattapoisett Harbor 4 3 5,690 1,880 



Nasketucket Bay 2.1 2,640 1,320 



Onset Bay 2.4 3,910 760 



Phinneys Harbor 2.2 2,770 1,220 



Pocasset River 8 1,520 510 



Quissett Harbor 0.5 1,170 410 



Red Brook Harbor 6 2,140 810 



Sippican Harbor 7.5 8,660 1,140 



Slocums River 2.0 5,440 330 



Squeteague Harbor 3 1,120 410 



Wareham River 2.5 3,050 560 



West Falmouth Harbor 8 1,520 410 

 Westport River 



East Branch 8 14,630 1,070 



West Branch 5.3 8,350 810 



Weweantic River 2 4 3,860 460 



Widows Cove 5 1,170 510 



Wild Harbor 0.5 810 560 



Wings Cove 0.9 1,690 660 



Eleven small primary rivers empty into the bay; 

 seven are found on the western shore: Agavvam. 

 Wankico, Weweantic, Mattapoisett, Acushnet, 

 Paskamanset, and Westport, and four on the east- 

 ern shore: Pocassett, Back, Wild Harbor, and Her- 

 ring Brook (Fig. 1 .4). All are tidal to some extent 

 inland from their mouths, and the eastern shore riv- 

 ers are primarily groundwater fed. The river dis- 

 charges on different sides of the bay reflect the very 



different watershed areas available for generating 

 freshwater flows as well as the effects of their dif- 

 fering glacial history on surface versus groundwater 

 flow. Inputs of freshwater discharges directly into 

 the bay are relatively small compared to the daily 

 flushing of seawater, and subsequent minor dilution 

 of salinity results in bay water salinity concentra- 

 tions approximating that of nearby oceanic waters. 

 The salinity results from the relatively small (2:1) 



