Location
The City of Bath is located on the Kennebec River in southwestern coastal Maine and is centered in the heart of Midcoast Maine. It is the hub of the region including Bath, West Bath, Phippsburg, Woolwich, Arrowsic and Georgetown. This scenic town is named for Bath, England and is the epitome of Maine's seagoing heritage. Bath serves as an employment and service center hub for a much larger region of southern Maine. All Southern Maine communities are easily accessible to Bath via the Route 1/I 95 corridor system, as well as many other primary state route systems. Google Map.
Geography
Bath offers a unique geographic experience not available anywhere else in Maine. Bath is adjacent to two of the most important ecological systems in Maine (and the Gulf of Maine); the Kennebec River and Merrymeeting Bay. The Kennebec offers unique deep water access in protected river isolation. As such, the Kennebec serves as a conduit for the largest river system in Maine. The water quality is sufficient to provide extensive wildlife support and is particularly renown for its bluefish and striper runs. Traveling the Kennebec, which is unimpeded from Popham to Augusta, remains a special experience where the viewer can still experience sparse or no areas of development and where there exist a myriad of recreation and development opportunities.
The Kennebec flows through and out of Merrymeeting Bay. Fourteen miles in length, the Bay has been identified as being one of the most critical marine estuarine systems in the Northeast. The Bay fulfills an important link in the food chain for the Gulf of Maine and Great Georges Bank. Like the Kennebec, much of Merrymeeting Bay and its environs remain undeveloped, providing a very special experience to the visitor who may hunt, fish or sail within its confines.
Bath, from a land mass perspective, is one of the smallest communities in Sagadahoc County. Consisting of just over 6,000 acres, it makes up only about 4% of the region's land area. Surrounding Bath are rural communities which have only recently begun to experience growth and development. Further to the west lies Brunswick and Topsham and to the east, Wiscasset. All are communities that have experienced some development in recent years, but still offer unique rural experiences.
The City can be described as a series of rolling hills which form steps as one moves west towards West Bath and Brunswick. Its geologic makeup is typified by marine clays and sand toward the northern portion of Bath at the surface underlain by ledge at varying depths. Average elevation of the area is 70 ft. above sea level. Development restrictions have been offset through the availability of water and sewer in most areas of the community.
