The movie Jaws was primarily filmed on Martha's Vineyard, an island off the coast of Massachusetts. The fictional town of Amity in the film was represented by the real town of Edgartown on Martha's Vineyard. Key filming locations on the island include:
- Edgartown town center, where many scenes such as the Amity police station and town hall were shot.
- Menemsha Channel, where the significant shark attack on the Orca boat was filmed.
- Lobsterville beach, used for the film's opening scene.
- Edgartown South Beach and nearby Cow Beach, locations for the opening bonfire scene and Chrissie's attack.
- Joseph A Sylvia State Beach near Oak Bluffs, where the boy Alex Kintner's shark attack scene was filmed.
- The ferry launch at the north end of Edgartown, where the mayor talks to Chief Brody.
Additionally, some interior scenes, like the underwater exploration by Hooper, were filmed in a swimming pool in California
. Martha's Vineyard was chosen not only for its picturesque coastal village look but also because it offered the unique shallow sandy ocean floor 12 miles offshore, which was essential for filming the ocean sequences with the mechanical shark
