The Fore River is a short horn-shaped estuary

Estuary

An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....

, approximately 5.7 miles (9.2 km) long, separating Portland

Portland, Maine

Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...

 and South Portland

South Portland, Maine

South Portland is a city in Cumberland County, Maine, United States, and is the fourth-largest city in the state. Founded in 1895, as of the 2010 census, the city population was 25,002. Known for its working waterfront, South Portland is situated on Portland Harbor and overlooks the skyline of...

 in Maine

Maine

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Many of the port facilities of the Portland harbor are along the estuary, which is formed just southwest of Portland by the confluence of several creeks. The estuary was initially known as Levett's River, so named by the first English settler of the Casco Bay

Casco Bay

Casco Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Maine on the southern coast of Maine, New England, United States. Its easternmost approach is Cape Small and its westernmost approach is Two Lights in Cape Elizabeth...

 region, Capt. Christopher Levett

Christopher Levett

Capt. Christopher Levett was an English writer, explorer and naval captain, born at York, England. He explored the coast of New England and secured a grant from the King to settle present-day Portland, Maine, the first European to do so. Levett left behind a group of settlers at his Maine...

. But shortly afterwards, the estuary came to have the name by which it is known today.

The Stroudwater River

Stroudwater River

The Stroudwater River is a river located mostly in Cumberland County, Maine. The river begins as a small stream at Duck Pond in Buxton and grows as it flows through Buxton, Gorham, Westbrook, and finally Portland before emptying into the Fore River near Portland's Stroudwater neighborhood...

 flows into the Fore River estuary. The Cumberland and Oxford Canal

Cumberland and Oxford Canal

The Cumberland and Oxford Canal was opened in 1832 to connect the largest lakes of southern Maine with the seaport of Portland, Maine. The canal followed the Presumpscot River from Sebago Lake through the towns of Standish, Windham, Gorham, and Westbrook. The Canal diverged from the river at...

 connected the estuary with Sebago Lake

Sebago Lake

Sebago Lake is the deepest and second largest lake in the U.S. state of Maine. The lake is deep at its deepest point, with a mean depth of , covers about in surface area, has a length of and a shoreline length of . The surface is around above sea level, so the deep bottom is below the present...

 via the Stroudwater River from 1832 through 1870. The estuary enters Casco Bay

Casco Bay

Casco Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Maine on the southern coast of Maine, New England, United States. Its easternmost approach is Cape Small and its westernmost approach is Two Lights in Cape Elizabeth...

 on the southeast edge of Portland. Like other coastal areas along the Gulf of Maine

Gulf of Maine

The Gulf of Maine is a large gulf of the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of North America.It is delineated by Cape Cod at the eastern tip of Massachusetts in the southwest and Cape Sable at the southern tip of Nova Scotia in the northeast. It includes the entire coastlines of the U.S...

, it experiences moderately high tides, and thus the water level in the estuary and the harbor varies greatly throughout the day, leaving mud flats at low tide. It is spanned by three bridges: the Casco Bay Bridge

Casco Bay Bridge

The Casco Bay Bridge is a bascule bridge that spans the Fore River, connecting South Portland and Portland, Maine, USA.-History:In 1987 the state of Maine, in concert with surrounding towns, concluded that the existing Million Dollar Bridge, which was almost 70 years old, was inadequate for current...

 which connects Portland to South Portland, Veterans Bridge which carries Route 1

U.S. Route 1

U.S. Route 1 is a major north–south U.S. Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs 2,377 miles from Fort Kent, Maine at the Canadian border south to Key West, Florida. U.S. 1 generally parallels Interstate 95, though it is significantly farther west between...

, and a causeway which carries I-295

Interstate 295 (Maine)

Interstate 295 is a -long connector in the U.S. state of Maine from I-95 in Scarborough to I-95 in West Gardiner.-Route description:...

.