White Head Passage
The deep channel between Cushing and Peaks
Position — The channel that explains both the shipping and, later, the fort.
No photograph of this place is held in the archive. Nothing is shown here rather than an approximation.
The deep, sheltered channel between Cushing and Peaks Islands — one of the historic approaches into Portland Harbor from the eastward. Named for the pale cliff on the Cushing side, it carried fishing schooners, coastal freighters, and, in both world wars, the harbor's anti-submarine net and patrol traffic.
- Strong tidal set through the narrows; look for standing waves on a wind-against-tide.
- Water depth allows large vessels close inshore, which is why the fort's guns were sited to cover this line.
- The White Head cliff is the natural range-mark that defines the channel's south edge.
A passage is a piece of infrastructure: its depth chose the shipping, and the shipping chose the fort. Battery Foote, White Head, and this channel are one system — read them together.
- 1.Where were the WWII anti-submarine net anchorages, and can any hardware still be traced on either shore?
- 2.Which historic charts label this water 'Whitehead' versus 'White Head Passage'?
Distances are straight-line from recorded coordinates. Island roads curve, so allow more time than the estimate.
- 01Stand at White HeadPlace · White Head — Landscape · All eras
- 02Read the whole layer: Fortress CushingLayer · Fortress Cushing — Layer 04 · 1898 → 1947
- 03Stand at Fort Levett — Battery FootePlace · Fort Levett — Battery Foote — Military · 1898–1945
- 04Stand at Fort Levett Parade & Fire-Control ComplexPlace · Fort Levett Parade & Fire-Control Complex — Military · 1898–1947