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• 544 to 890 acres, depending on water level
• 4,505-acre watershed

The largest Great Pond on the south shore, nestled in the rural coastal perimeters of Edgartown and divided from the Atlantic by a wide, sandy barrier beach. The pond is ringed by finger-like coves set in brackish, marshy land. Mandmade breachings managed by the town shellfish department are scheduled throughout the year to open the pond to the Atlantic. The pond was among the first on the Island to be intensively studied, beginning in the 1990s when a concerned citizen group raised money and joined forces with the town to conduct detailed marine biological study work using scientists from Woods Hole. In 2007 the Massachusetts Estuaries Project continued the work.

Water quality in the pond has declined significantly due to a combination of factors: closed circulation (except when the pond is opened to the sea), nitrogen coming from individual septic systems at private homes, and waterfowl. Wild oysters, blue claw crabs and softshell clams, once abundant, have declined, although oyster restoration projects are under way.