Geography of Scituate

Scituate Lighthouse, Scituate Harbor

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 31.8 square miles (82.4 km²), of which 17.6 square miles (45.7 km²) is land and 14.2 square miles (36.8 km²), or 44.60%, is water.^[3] Scituate is bordered on the east by Massachusetts Bay, on the south by Marshfield, on the west by Norwell and Hingham, all of which are in Plymouth County, and on the northwest by Cohasset, in Norfolk County. The town is 19 miles (31 km) northeast of Brockton and 25 miles (40 km) southeast of Boston.

Scituate is considered a South Shore community, located just south of the mouth of greater Boston Harbor. The town is not contiguous; Humarock is a part of Scituate which can only be reached from Marshfield. The latter was formerly connected to the town, but that connection was lost when the mouth of the South River shifted northward as the result of the Portland Gale of 1898. The town's shore varies, with the south (along the mouth of the North River) being surrounded by salt marshes, the middle (around Scituate Harbor) being sandy, and the coast of Scituate Neck (Minot) in the north exhibiting exposed granite bedrock. It is off these rocks that Minot's Ledge lies, home to the town's most famous lighthouse. The inland of the town is mostly wooded, with several brooks and rivers (including Satuit or "Cold Brook", for which the town is named) running through.

The town has no freeways running through it; Massachusetts Route 3 runs through neighboring Norwell. Route 3A runs through the town, and is known as Chief Justice Cushing Highway for this stretch, named for Chief Justice William Cushing (1732–1810). The only other state highway in town is Route 123, which terminates at Route 3A, just 0.7 miles (1.1 km) from the town line.

There is no air service in town; the closest regional airport is Marshfield Municipal Airport, and the closest national and international air service is at Logan International Airport in Boston. There are two MBTA commuter rail stations. One is just off Route 3A in North Scituate, and the other is just east of the intersection of Routes 3A and 123 in the Greenbush neighborhood, which is the line's eastern terminus. The line is connected to an existing line in Braintree, providing service to South Station in Boston.^[4]

Named places in the town include:^[5]

• Egypt
• First Cliff
• Greenbush (Green Bush)
• Hatherly
• Humarock
• Lawson Tower, a historic water tower which is visible from several miles out at sea
• Minot, including Minot Beach
• North Scituate (formerly Gannett Corner)

Scituate Beach, Massachusetts, Thomas Doughty, 1837

• Peggotty Beach
• Rivermoor
• Second Cliff
• Shore Acres
• Sodham
• The Glades
• Sand Hills
• The Connolly House
• Third Cliff

"The Harbor" refers to the business district as well as the harbor itself. Scituate Harbor is used mostly by pleasure boaters and fisherman.^[6]