Cape Cod
- This article refers to the geographic landform. For other meanings of Cape Cod, see Cape Cod (disambiguation).
Cape Cod (1033 km²; called simply The Cape by Northeasterners) is an arm-shaped peninsula forming the Easternmost portion of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States. It is coextensive with Barnstable County. Although Cape Cod was originally connected to the mainland, the Cape Cod Canal, completed in 1914, effectively transformed Cape Cod into a large island.
Geography
Cape Cod forms a continuity with a line of islands stretching toward New York, historically known by naturalists as the Outer Lands.
Cape Cod consists of four portions: The Upper Cape is the section of Cape Cod closest to the mainland. This portion of the Cape includes the towns of Bourne, Falmouth, Mashpee, and Sandwich. While part of the town of Barnstable is located on the Upper Cape, it is more commonly considered to be in the Mid-Cape area. Falmouth is the home of the famous Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and several other research organizations, and is also the most-used ferry connection to Martha's Vineyard. Falmouth is composed of several villages, including Woods Hole, Quissett, West Falmouth, North Falmouth, Hatchville, East Falmouth, Teaticket, and Waquoit.
The Mid-Cape includes the towns of Barnstable, Dennis and Yarmouth. There are seven villages in Barnstable: Barnstable, Centerville, Cotuit, Hyannis, Marstons Mills, Osterville, and West Barnstable. The Mid-Cape area features many beautiful beaches, including warm-water beaches along Nantucket Sound, e.g. Kalmus Beach in Hyannis, which gets its name from one of the inventors of Technicolor, Herbert Kalmus. This popular windsurfing destination was bequeathed to the town of Barnstable by Dr. Kalmus on condition that it not be developed, possibly one of the first instances of open-space preservation in the US. There are three villages in Yarmouth: South Yarmouth, West Yarmouth and Yarmouthport.
The Lower Cape is the narrower portion of the cape, where it bends sharply to the north. This section includes the towns of Brewster, Chatham, Harwich, and Orleans.
The Outer Cape is the outermost part, containing the towns of Eastham, Provincetown, Truro, and Wellfleet. This area is home to some of the most popular beaches in America, namely Coast Guard and Nauset Light beaches in Eastham.
The large area of water enclosed by Cape Cod and the mainland seacoast to the north is Cape Cod Bay; west of Cape Cod is Buzzards Bay. To the south lie Nantucket sound; Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard (both large islands); and the mostly privately owned Elizabeth Islands in the town of Gosnold, of which the most populated is Cuttyhunk.
Cape Cod is connected to the mainland by a pair of canal-spanning highway bridges from Bourne and Sagamore that were constructed in the 1930s, and a vertical-lift railroad bridge. The entire Cape is roughly bisected lengthwise by U.S. Route 6, locally known as the Mid-Cape Highway. Commercial air service to Cape Cod operates out of Barnstable Municipal Airport and Provincetown Municipal Airport. There is also a ferry connection from Boston to Provincetown.
Geology
"East of America, there stands in the open Atlantic the last fragment of an ancient and vanished land. Worn by the breakers and the rains, and disintegrated by the wind, it still stands bold." - Henry Beston, from his book The Outermost House
Most of Cape Cod's geological history involves the advance and retreat of the last continental ice sheet in the late Pleistocene geological era and the subsequent changes in sea level. Using radiocarbon dating techniques, researchers have determined that around 23,000 years ago, the ice sheet reached its maximum southward advance over North America, and then started to retreat. By about 18,000 years ago, the ice sheet had retreated past Cape Cod. By roughly 15,000 years ago, it had retreated past southern New England.
When so much of Earth's water was locked up in massive ice sheets, the sea level was lower. As the ice began to melt, the sea began to rise. Initially, sea level rose quickly, about 15 meters (50 feet) per 1,000 years, but then the rate declined. On Cape Cod, sea level rose roughly 3 meters (11 feet) per millennium between 6,000 and 2,000 years ago. After that, it continued to rise at about 1 meter (3 feet) per millennium. By 6,000 years ago, the sea level was high enough to start eroding the glacial deposits that the vanished continental ice sheet had left on Cape Cod. The water then carried the eroded deposits along the shoreline. Those reworked sediments found a new home on the tip of Cape Cod. Provincetown Spit, at the northern end of the cape, consists largely of marine deposits, transported from farther up the shore. So while other parts of the Cape have dwindled from the action of the waves, this part of the Cape has grown. Also, many "kettle ponds" - clear, cold lakes - were formed on Cape Cod as a result of the receding glacier.
Climate
Cape Cod experiences a continental climate that is very common in New England, which is variable and changes rapidly. Although the weather is typically more moderate than inland locations, there have been occasions where Cape Cod has dealt with the brunt of extreme weather situations (such as the Blizzard of 2005 and Hurricane Bob). Because of the influence of the Atlantic Ocean, temperatures are typically a few degrees cooler in the summer and a few degrees warmer in the winter. A common misconception is the climate is influenced largely by the warm Gulf Stream current, however that current turns eastward off the coast of Virginia and the waters off the Cape are more influenced by the cold Canadian Labrador Current. The Cape's climate is also notorious for a delayed spring season, being surrounded by an ocean which is still cold from the winter, however, it is also known for an exceptionally mild fall season (Indian Summer), thanks to the ocean remaining warm from the summer.
Precipitation on Cape Cod and the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket is the lowest in New England region , averaging slightly less than 40 inches a year (most parts of New England average 42-46 inches). This is due to storm systems which move across western areas, building up in mountainous regions, and dissipating before reaching the coast where the land has leveled out. The region does not experience a greater number of sunny days however, as the number of cloudy days is the same as inland locales, in addition to increased fog.
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high °F (°C) |
35.7 (2.1) |
36.5 (2.5) |
43.2 (6.2) |
53.1 (11.7) |
62.5 (16.9) |
74.3 (23.5) |
79.5 (26.3) |
80.0 (26.7) |
77.1 (25.2) |
65.1 (18.4) |
54.6 (12.6) |
41.8 (5.4) |
58.5 (14.7) |
| Avg low °F (°C) |
22.4 (-5.3) |
23.0 (-5.0) |
29.6 (-1.3) |
36.9 (2.7) |
47.7 (8.7) |
58.3 (14.6) |
66.6 (19.2) |
68.5 (20.3) |
60.0 (15.5) |
49.9 (9.9) |
39.1 (3.9) |
28.0 (-2.2) |
44.1 (6.7) |
| Rainfall in inches (millimeters) |
3.86 (98.0) |
2.97 (75.4) |
3.74 (95.8) |
3.62 (90.4) |
3.29 (80.3) |
3.02 (74.2) |
2.45 (62.2) |
2.56 (67.6) |
2.94 (75.9) |
3.34 (81.3) |
3.57 (90.7) |
3.65 (92.7) |
39.01 (990.85) |
History
"(Cape Cod is) . . . a vast morgue, where famished dogs may range in packs - the most uninviting landscape on earth." - Henry David Thoreau
Cape Cod was a landmark for early explorers, possibly the "Promontory of Vinland" mentioned by the Norse voyagers (985-1025). Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524 approached it from the south, and Gomez the next year called it Cape St. James. Bartholomew Gosnold in 1602 gave it the name that survives. Samuel de Champlain charted its sand-silted harbors in 1606 and Henry Hudson landed there in 1609. Captain John Smith noted it on his map of 1614 and at last the Pilgrims entered the "Cape Harbor" and--contrary to the popular myth of Plymouth Rock--made their first landing near present-day Provincetown on November 11, 1620. Nearby, in what is now Eastham, they had their first encounter with Native Americans.
Cape Cod was among the first places settled by Europeans in North America. Its Native American population was decimated by diseases carried by Europeans, leaving the survivors more or less helpless in the face of dispossession. Aside from Barnstable and Sandwich (1638) and Yarmouth (1639) the Cape's fifteen towns developed slowly. The final town to be established on the Cape was Mashpee in 1880. Provincetown was a group of huts until the 18th century. A channel from Massachusetts Bay to Buzzards Bay is shown on Southack's map of 1717, but the present Cape Cod Canal had a troubled development from 1870 to 1914. The Federal government purchased it in 1928.
Thanks to its early settlement and intensive land use, by the time Henry Thoreau saw Cape Cod during his four visits over 1849 to 1857, its vegetation was depauperate and trees were scarce. As all heating was by wood, and it took 10 to 20 cords (40 to 80 m³) of wood to heat a home, most of Cape Cod was cleared early on. Other areas were planted to crops familiar to the English but unsuited to Cape Cod's thin, glacially derived soils. For instance, much of Eastham was planted to wheat. Burning of woodlands was common to release nutrients into the soil. Improper and intensive farming led to erosion and the loss of topsoil. Dunes on the outer Cape became more common and many harbors filled in with eroded soils. By 1800, most of Cape Cod's firewood came by boat from Maine. The paucity of vegetation was worsened by the Merino sheep and wool "mania" that reached its peak in New England around 1840. Lacking any significant water power the early industrial revolution, which occurred through much of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, bypassed Cape Cod, as a result of this, along with its geographic position, the Cape developed as a large fishing and whaling center. After 1860 and the opening of the west, agricultural abandonment began on the Cape so that by 1950 it had more forests than at any time since the 1700s.
Guglielmo Marconi made the first transatlantic wireless transmission from Cape Cod at Wellfleet. He then built upon this success in 1914 by opening the maritime wireless station WCC in Chatham, which had a hand in the communications of Amelia Earhart, Howard Hughes, Admiral Byrd, and the Hindenburg. He chose this site due to Chatham's vantage point on the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded on three sides by water.
Much of the East-facing Atlantic seacoast of Cape Cod consists of wide, sandy beaches. In 1961, a significant portion of this coastline—already slated for housing subdivisions—was made a part of the Cape Cod National Seashore by President John F. Kennedy, and is thus protected from development. Large portions are open to the public, including the "Marconi Site" in Wellfleet, a park built around the site of the first two-way transoceanic radio transmission (by Theodore Roosevelt using Guglielmo Marconi's equipment).
Tourism
Although Cape Cod has a year round population of about 230,000, it experiences a tourist explosion each summer between Memorial Day and Labor Day, as the New England cold gives way to a brief but comfortable summer. Many businesses are specifically targeted to the visitors, and close during the "off season" (roughly 8-9 months per year, although many tourists are opting to visit in the late spring and early fall, effectively extending the tourist season). Some particularly well known Cape products and industries include cranberries, shellfish (particularly oysters and clams) and lobstering.
Provincetown, at the tip of Cape Cod, also berths several whale watching fleets who patrol the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Most fleets guarantee a whale sighting (mostly humpback, finback, and sei whales), and one is the only federally certified operation qualified to rescue whales. Most motels in and around Cape Cod provide coupons that offer discounts on the whale watching trips. Provincetown also developed as a popular gay and lesbian resort from about 1970, attracting gay and lesbian tourists to the various shows, shops, and events held there.
Cape Cod is also very popular for its boating, seafood, ice cream, candy, miniature golf, go-karts, and unique shopping. Bed and breakfasts or vacation houses are often used for lodging.
There are numerous working lighthouses on Cape Cod and the Islands, including Nauset Light, Chatham Light, Race Point and Nobska, some operated by the U.S. Coast Guard, which are frequently photographed emblems of Cape Cod.
Sports
The Cape has nine amateur baseball franchises playing within Barnstable County in the Cape Cod Baseball League. The Wareham Gatemen also play in the Cape Cod Baseball League in nearby Wareham, Massachusetts in Plymouth County. The league has been in existence since 1885. Teams in the league are the Bourne Braves, Brewster Whitecaps, Chatham Athletics, Cotuit Kettleers, Falmouth Commodores, Harwich Mariners, Hyannis Mets, Orleans Cardinals, Wareham Gatemen and the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox. Pro ball scouts frequent the games in the summer, looking for stars of the future.
The Cape also is home to the Cape Cod Frenzy, a team in the American Basketball Association. The Frenzy began play in the 2004-2005 season as the Boston Frenzy. The team had a disappointing inaugural season with a record of 5-15 and had an even more disappointing season the next year with a 2-20 record. The league changed ownership in 2006 and was moved to Cape Cod, although many of their games were played on the Cape in the 2005-2006 season. The team will play a 36 game season in 2006-2007 and will have merchandise for sale throughout the year at a kiosk in the Cape Cod Mall in Hyannis.
Pro Soccer is alive on Cape Cod with the Cape Cod Crusaders playing in the Premier Development League (PDL) soccer based in Hyannis. In addition, there is summer Cape Cod Adult Soccer League (CCASL) in active in several towns on the Cape.
Islands off Cape Cod
Like Cape Cod itself, the islands south of Cape Cod have turned from being whaling and trading areas to resort destinations for the Northeast, attracting old, wealthy families, celebrities, and prosperous tourists alike. The islands include Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, as well as the Elizabeth Island Chain, which includes the Forbes family-owned Naushon Island, which was purchased by John Murray Forbes with profits from opium dealing in the China trade during the Opium War. The only accesible Elizabeth Island is the southernmost one in the chain, Cuttyhunk, with its humble year-round population of fifty-two people. Several prominent families have established compounds or estates on the larger islands, making these Cape Cod offshore islands some of the wealthiest resorts in the Northeast, yet they retain much of the early merchant trading and whaling culture.
External links
References
- "Provincetown Spit, Cape Cod, Massachusetts". NASA Earth Observatory. Retrieved 2006-05-02.
Boston (capital) | |
| Topics | |
| Society | |
| Regions | |
| Counties | |
| Cities |
|
