Resort island and county in southeast Massachusetts, USA, 40 km/25 mi south of Cape Cod across Nantucket Sound; population (2000 est) 9,500. Extending over 120 sq km/46 sq mi, its beaches have made it a popular summer vacation area. The island was explored by the English in 1602, settled in 1659 by Quaker and Presbyterian families, and became part of Massachusetts in 1692. In the 18th19th centuries, Nantucket Town (incorporated in 1671) was a whaling port.
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