New Bedford Bodies of Water

Protected by a two-mile-long hurricane barrier built in the 1960s, New Bedford Harbor sits between New Bedford and Fairhaven at the mouth of the Acushnet River on Buzzards Bay. The harbor is considered one of the country's most important fishing ports based on the value of product. The New Bedford-Fairhaven Bridge spans the harbor, crossing Fish and Pope's islands along the way.

The Acushnet River flows south from Long Pond in Lakeville, Massachsetts into New Bedford Harbor where it joins with Buzzards Bay on the Atlantic Ocean. The river is spanned by six bridges along the way: three short bridges in Acushnet and three in New Bedford, the last two connecting New Bedford and Fairhaven where the river widens to form the New Bedford Harbor, one of America's most significant fishing ports.

Bordered by the southern coasts of Bristol and Plymouth counties to the northwest, Cape Cod to the east and the Elizabeth Islands to the south, This Atlantic Ocean bay is a designated Estuary of National Significance. The bay is home to one of the country's most significant fishing ports, New Bedford, which was once the world's most successful whaling port. Buzzards Bay is connected to Cape Cod Bay via the Cape Cod Canal, constructed in 1914. The bay was named by colonists who mistook the osprey that breed along its shores for buzzards.