Elizabeth Islands
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The Elizabeth Islands are a chain of small islands extending southwest from the southern coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts in the United States. They are located at the outer edge of Buzzards Bay, north of Martha's Vineyard from which they are separated by Vineyard Sound. The islands are part of the town of Gosnold. All of the Elizabeth Islands except Cuttyhunk and Penikese are privately owned by the Forbes family. Historically, the islands were part of the extinct Dukes County, New York.
The islands include:
- Naushon Island is owned by the Forbes family trust.
- Weepeckets are a series of small islands owned by the Forbes family but publicly accessible. They were used as practice target for bombs, rockets, and machine guns from 1941 to 1957.
- Pasque Island is owned by a subset of the Forbes family. It is 1.5 miles long and covered in poison ivy. A shallow tidal creek cuts part way through the island.
- Nashawena Island is owned by a different subset of the Forbes family. It is 3 miles long and has grazing livestock.
- Penikese contains a juvenile detention facility.
- Cuttyhunk is the last island in the chain, and much of the island is publicly accessible.
Holes with strong tidal currents (up to 6 knots) separate the islands from each other and the mainland. The currents are driven by the different sizes and filling rates of Vineyard Sound to the southeast and Buzzard's Bay to the northwest. At high tide, water flows from Buzzards Bay to the Vineyard Sound. Near mid-tide the water stops and reverses, filling the Bay at low tide.