Physical Environment
Georges Bank is the most westward of the great Atlantic fishing banks, the now-submerged portions of the North American mainland which now comprise the continental shelf running from the Grand Banks of Newfoundland to Georges. Georges Bank was part of the North American mainland as recently as 12,000 years ago.
Roughly oval in shape, Georges Bank measures about 149 miles (240 kilometres) in length by 75 miles (120 kilometres) in width, making it larger than Massachusetts. Located 62 miles (100 kilometres) offshore, Georges Bank is part of the continental shelf. It is submerged to a depth of several metres to several dozen metres; almost the entire bank is at least 330 feet (100 m) shallower than the Gulf of Maine to the north.
Gulf of Maine shelf waters are the Bank's primary source. They enter the northern flank, move clockwise around the eastern end, and then westward along the southern flank, mostly emptying into the Mid-Atlantic Bight (the continental shelf ocean between Cape Hatteras and Georges Bank).
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