Skip to content
Archipelago

    Atlantic OceanUnited States

    40°48′N 73°18′W

    Outer Lands

    The Outer Lands is the prominent terminal moraine archipelagic region off the southern coast of New England in the United States.

    Block Island, Rhode Island aerial view from the south with Rhode Island coastline in the distance.
    Block Island, Rhode Island aerial view from the south with Rhode Island coastline in the distance.

    Timothy J. Quill / CC BY-SA 4.0

    Chart

    8 landforms

    Overview

    The Outer Lands is the prominent terminal moraine archipelagic region off the southern coast of New England in the United States. This eight-county region of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York comprises the peninsula of Cape Cod and the islands of Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, the Elizabeth Islands, Block Island, and Long Island, as well as surrounding islands and islets. Though the existence of an arc or chain of islands in this archipelago is widely acknowledged by geographers, it is rarely given a specific name; occasionally a descriptive term such as southern New England islands or a technical term such as Cape Cod/Long Island ecoregion or Long Island–Cape Cod Coastal Lowland is used. The Isles of Stirling was the name granted in 1635 when the islands came into the possession of William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling. "Outer Lands" is a term popularized by author Dorothy Sterling in her 1967 natural history guide of the same name, and used by later natural history authors such as Patrick J. Lynch.

    From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

    Census, cataloged

    • Major islands3
    • Minor islands0
    • Islets3
    • Rocks & skerries2

    Major islands

    3
    • Martha's Vineyard

      Martha's Vineyard

      Area
      242 km²
      High point
      95 m

      Martha's Vineyard (Wampanoag: Noepe), often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in Massachusetts, lying just south of Cape Cod. It is known for being a popular, affluent summer colony and includes the peninsula Chappaquiddick Island.

    • Nantucket

      Nantucket

      Area
      119 km²
      High point
      33 m

      Nantucket is an island in Massachusetts, United States, about 30 miles (48 km) south of the Cape Cod peninsula. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government. Nantucket is the southeasternmost town in Massachusetts.

    • Block Island

      Block Island

      Area
      24.7 km²
      High point
      62 m

      Block Island is an island of the Outer Lands coastal archipelago in New England, located approximately 9 miles (14 km) south of mainland Rhode Island and 14 miles (23 km) east of Long Island's Montauk Point. The island is coterminous with the town of New Shoreham, Rhode Island, and is part of Washington County.

    Islets

    3

    Rocks & skerries

    2
    • Rat Island<0.1 ha
    • Unnamed island<0.1 ha

    Figures

    Comparative heights

    Sea level50 m100 m95 mMartha's Vineyard62 mBlock33 mNantucket1 mSkippers
    High points by island, metres above sea level.

    Islands by area

    0.00010.0010.010.11101001,000Martha's Vineyard: 242 km²Martha's VineyardNantucket: 119 km²NantucketBlock: 24.7 km²BlockSarson: 0.02 km²SarsonUnnamed island: 0.3 haUnnamed islandSkippers: 0.3 haSkippersRat: <0.1 haRatUnnamed island: <0.1 haUnnamed island
    km², log scale
    Martha's Vineyard242 km²
    Nantucket119 km²
    Block Island24.7 km²
    Sarson Island0.02 km²
    Unnamed island0.3 ha
    Skippers Island0.3 ha
    Rat Island<0.1 ha
    Unnamed island<0.1 ha

    Overlapping groups

    Sources

    Facts

    • Geometry, areas and high points: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Copernicus GLO-30, via Talus.
    • Wikidata
    • Wikipedia

    Photographs