The International Hydrographic Organization defines the southwest limit of the Bay of Fundy as " A line running northwesterly from Cape St. Mary ( 44 ° 05 ' N ) Nova Scotia, through Machias Seal Island ( 67 ° 06 ' W ) and on to Little River Head ( 44 ° 39 ' N ) in the State of Maine ".

The Webster – Ashburton Treaty failed to clarify ownership of Machias Seal Island and nearby North Rock, which remain in dispute today.

Image: Puffin1b. jpg |< center > Adult in nest cavity, Machias Seal Island, Gulf of Maine </ center >

Image: Puffin1. jpg |< center > On Machias Seal Island, Gulf of Maine </ center >

Image: Puffin1a. jpg |< center > On Machias Seal Island, Gulf of Maine </ center >

Due to ambiguities in the treaty, the ownership of Machias Seal Island and North Rock remains disputed between the U. S. and Canada ; other original territorial ambiguities ( including the Northeastern Boundary Dispute and the disputed Indian Stream territory ) were resolved by the Webster-Ashburton Treaty in 1842.

In 1817 the U. S. relinquished its claim to the Fundy Isles ( Campobello, Deer, and Grand Manan islands ), and the British returned islands in Cobscook Bay including Moose Island but notably did not return Machias Seal Island.

Machias Seal Island is an island located in the Gulf of Maine, approximately southeast from Cutler, Maine, and approximately southwest of Southwest Head, New Brunswick on Grand Manan Island.

The relationship of Machias Seal Island to the Grand Manan archipelago is a source of some dispute among geologists.

Machias Seal Island is a barren island and devoid of trees.

Because of its location at the boundary between the Gulf of Maine and the Bay of Fundy, Machias Seal Island is fog-bound for many days of the year.

Likely used by the Passamaquoddy Nation in the pre-European era, Machias Seal Island was never actively nor successfully settled during the years when the French and the British were exploring this part of North America.

Once the St. Croix River was unambiguously identified following a commission provided by Jay's Treaty of 1794, it became clear that Machias Seal Island, as well as Grand Manan Island, was within 20 leagues of the shores of the United States (, 110 km ) and south of the line drawn due east from the mouth of the St. Croix River, but it remained unclear whether they were within the defined limits of Nova Scotia.

Machias Seal Island lies within 3. 5 leagues from Grand Manan Island and 3 leagues from the coast of Maine, although Britain would later cease its claims on other islands in eastern Maine, such as Moose Island.

Machias Seal Island, not an island of the Passamaquoddy Bay but near Grand Manan, was never directly mentioned.

Britain maintained possession of Machias Seal Island, under pressure from shipping interests at the burgeoning port of Saint John.

Later boundary treaties and negotiations extended the seaward boundary in the Grand Manan Channel in 1908-1910 to its present terminus, roughly equidistant between Grand Manan Island and the coast of Maine, and several dozen kilometres northeast of Machias Seal Island.

In recent decades, the island has been protected under its designation as the Machias Seal Island Migratory Bird Sanctuary ( a wildlife and seabird sanctuary ), managed by the Canadian Wildlife Service.

No private citizen in Canada has made an ownership claim to Machias Seal Island, and Canada considers the property to be wholly owned by the federal government.

However, the United States has never maintained an ongoing presence on the island as Canada has, and until recent decades, many branches of the Federal and State of Maine governments were inconsistent in their communications: they sometimes have referred to Machias Seal Island as being owned by Canada.

Machias Seal Island's ( and North Rock's ) sovereignty would likely not still be in question today if it were not for the decision by Canada and the United States to avoid settling this issue in their 1979 joint application to the International Court of Justice ( ICJ ) at The Hague in the Netherlands to have the maritime boundary delineated in the Gulf of Maine for fishing and mineral exploration purposes on Georges Bank.

Both nations avoided having ICJ rule on the sovereignty of Machias Seal Island and North Rock by agreeing to have a common starting point for the offshore boundary southwest of the island at.

Machias Seal Island and North Rock lie in the middle of this " grey zone " -- a term coined by fishermen from both countries, referring to unclear jurisdictional boundaries in the area.

Since the 1984 ICJ ruling on the Gulf of Maine decided the fate of offshore boundaries, Machias Seal Island ( and neighboring North Rock, an exposed rock outcropping approximately north-northeast at, as well as the surrounding waters, have become a political football for local politicians in fishing communities of coastal Charlotte County, New Brunswick and Washington County, Maine.

Machias received its name from Maine settlers.

Machias replied with its machine guns.

Prior to its existence ( or that of the Continental Navy, he commanded the sloop Unity when she captured HMS Margaretta in the Battle of Machias, the first naval battle of the American Revolutionary War.

The Machias townspeople rose up, seizing the merchant vessels and then the schooner after a short battle in which its commander was killed.

To the east is the Town of Centerville in Allegany County, and to the west are the Towns of Yorkshire and Machias.

Today, all lighthouses in Eastern Canada except for the station on Machias Seal Island are unmanned.

Currently, runs of 11 rivers in Maine are on the list – Kennebec, Androscoggin, Penobscot, Sheepscot, Ducktrap, Cove Brook, Pleasant, Narraguagus, Machias, East Machias and Dennys.

The east boundary is formed by the Towns of Machias and Yorkshire.

In 1847, Machias was increased by additional territory from the Town of Yorkshire.

From Stump to Ship is an amateur industrial film by Alfred Ames, owner of the Machias Lumber Company, in Machias, Maine and by Dr. Howard Kane of Washington, DC.

Supported by George Washington but with limited personnel, Eddy's attacking force consisted of " about twenty " Americans from Machias, Maine, 27 Yankee settlers from the Saint John River valley, 140 Malisseet and four Mi ' kmaq, 21 Acadians from the Memramcook Valley and the Allen family farm, and about 120 farmers from Cumberland, Onslow, and Pictou.

The need for building materials and other supplies led Admiral Samuel Graves to authorize a Loyalist merchant to send his ships from Boston to Machias in the District of Maine, accompanied by a Royal Navy schooner.

Commodore Collier followed up by attacking Machias, intending to break Allan's plans.

Canada and the U. S. continue to disagree on the sovereignty of Machias Seal Island and the waters surrounding it in the northeastern part of the gulf.

* 1775 – The American Revolutionary War's first naval engagement, the Battle of Machias, results in the capture of a small British naval vessel.

Its county seat is Machias.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service in Machias is administering federal USDA funds in a small watersheds program known as PL566.

To the west is the Town of Machias.

Lime Lake-Machias is a census-designated place including part of the Town of Machias, in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States.

The census region is composed of the two hamlets of Lime Lake and Machias in the northeast part of the town.

New York State Route 16 and Cattaraugus County Route 62 connect Lime Lake to Machias.

Machias is a town in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States.

The Town of Machias is an interior town in the northeast quadrant of the county.

The Town of Machias was first settled around 1813 and was established in 1827 from the Town of Yorkshire.

New York State Route 16 intersects New York State Route 242 at Machias village.

The Town of Machias straddles the border of the Mississippi River Drainage Basin, with waters flowing out of Lime Lake flowing north and then west to Lake Erie and eventually the Saint Lawrence Seaway to the Atlantic Ocean, and waters of Ischua creek, less than one mile ( 1. 6 km ) south of Lime Lake, flowing south towards the Allegheny River and eventually the Mississippi and Gulf of Mexico.

Ischua Creek flows past the south part of Machias village.

Machias is south of the Town of Yorkshire and north of the Town of Franklinville.

Lime Lake is on NY Route 16 in the northeast part of the town, north of Machias village.

* Machias ( earlier " Machias Five Corners " and " Chickasaw ") – the principal hamlet and business district is the town on NY Route 16 in the east part of the town.