Aquidneck Island

Aquidneck Island, also called Rhode Island, is the largest island in Narragansett Bay. It must be distinguished from the State of Rhode Island, of which it is part.

The origin of the name "Rhode Island" is unclear. It may have been given its name because of its similarity in shape to the island of Rhodes in the Mediterranean. Alternatively, it may been bestowed by Dutch navigator Adriaen Block who visited the island in 1614, who may have named it Roode after the Dutch word for "red".

The largest city on the island is Newport, which is the fourth largest city in the state of Rhode Island. It shares the island with Middletown and Portsmouth.

The Newport Bridge (RI 138), a toll bridge, recently renamed the Senator Claiborne Pell Bridge, connects it to Jamestown on nearby Conanicut Island in Narragansett Bay, and subsequently to the mainland on the western side of the bay. Additionally, the formerly tolled Mount Hope Bridge (RI 114) connects it to Bristol, and the Sakonnet Bridge (RI 24/RI 138) carries traffic to Tiverton over the Sakonnet River, the narrow saltwater strait on the eastern side of the island. South of the Sakonnet Bridge is the site of the demolished Stone Bridge (old RI 138); the other two bridges replaced ferries.