Presque Isle Bay

Geobox|Water
name = Presque Isle Bay
other_name = Erie Harbor
category = Bay


image_size =
image_caption =
official name = Presque Isle Bay
etymology_type = Named for
etymology = Presque Isle
nickname =
country = United States
country_

state = Pennsylvania
state_

region_label = County/Counties in which the site lies
region_type = County
region = Erie
district_label = Township/Townships in which the site lies
district_type = Millcreek
parent = Lake Erie
elevation_imperial = 1001
lat_d = 42
lat_m = 8
lat_s = 15
lat_NS = N
long_d = 80
long_m = 6
long_s = 54
long_EW = W
length_imperial = 4.6
width_imperial = 1.8
depth_imperial = 20
volume_imperial =
area_imperial = 5.8
watershed_imperial = 25
free_type =
free =
free1_type =
free1 =
map_locator = Pennsylvania
map_size = 250
map_caption = Location of Presque Isle in Pennsylvania


website =
commons =
footnotes =

Presque Isle Bay is a natural bay located off the coast of Erie, Pennsylvania, United States. Its convert|5.8|sqmi|km2|adj=on embayment is about convert|4.6|mi|km in length, about convert|1.8|mi|km across at its widest point, and an average depth of about convert|20|ft|m. The bay is bounded on the north and west by a recurved peninsula that makes up Presque Isle State Park. On the south, the bay is edged by the urban Erie shoreline, which hosts the Port of Erie Marine Terminal, as well as an assortment of marinas, parks, and tourist attractions. A small channel on the east provides a shipping lane into and out of Lake Erie. Cascade Creek, Garrison Run, Mill Creek, and surface runoff drain the lands of the Presque Isle Bay Watershed into the bay.

History

Commander Oliver Hazard Perry took command of America's Lake Erie naval fleet at Presque Isle in March 1813. By the end of July 1813, Perry had assembled the necessary crews and escaped a blockade of the channel exit by Commander Robert Heriot Barclay, Perry's British counterpart. With access to the lake, Perry led his fleet west to Put-in-Bay, Ohio, where the Battle of Lake Erie was fought in September 1813.

Recovery

After pollution of the bay caused by sewage and industrial waste forced an end to swimming and caused the appearance of tumors on brown bullheads and other fishes, Erie established the Erie Harbor Improvement Council in 1988 to seek remediation. Later called the Presque Isle Bay Public Advisory Committee, the group was instrumental in having the bay listed as one of the Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOC) in 1991. It then pushed for the establishment of a Remedial Action Plan (RAP) in 1993, which was updated in 1995 and 2002 to make key fixes with the goal of the resumption of swimming and fishing in the bay. In 2002, the bay became the first US AOC to be awarded Recovery Stage status. [cite web |title=Presque Isle Bay Area of Concern |url=http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/aoc/presque.html |publisher=Environmental Protection Agency |date=28 May 2008 |accessdate=2008-06-16] A ceremonial swim by 300 swimmers is scheduled for 28 June 2008 to celebrate the recovery of the bay. [cite news |last=Frederick |first=Robb |title=Swim To Mark Clean Bay |work=Erie Times-News |date=21 March 2008 |pages=1B, 4B]

References

External links

* [http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/aoc/presque.html Presque Isle Bay Area of Concern] (EPA)
* [http://www.fishusa.com/FishErie/Bay.asp Presque Isle Bay and Bay Fishing (Fish USA)]
* [http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/StateParks/parks/presqueisle.aspx Presque Isle State Park] (PA DCNR)