Generally, the Cape Cod National Seashore-encompassing all beaches, parking areas, and trails-is open year-round from 6AM through midnight. Temperatures range between 30☏ and 40☏ (-1° to 4☌) in mid-winter, but intervals of below 0☏ (-18☌) as well as milder temperatures are also possible. Winter is milder than inland, but dampness and wind chill can make winter days bitter cold. Autumn is drier than spring with similar temperatures. Summer brings temperatures in the 70s and 80s☏ (20-30☌), and cool nights. Spring is generally cool and damp with temperatures of 40☏-60☏ (4°-15☌). Much less visible is the spadefoot toad which spends most its life buried in the sand, emerging only on warm nights with torrential rainfall. Some of these, such as the common tern, are conspicuous. Cape Cod National Seashore also supports 32 species that are rare or endangered in the state of Massachusetts. The Seashore is a significant site for the piping plover, with roughly 5% of the entire Atlantic coast population nesting here. Twenty-five federally-protected species occur in the park. Hog Cranberry & Thorn Lichen spotted in WellfleetĪs a result of almost total deforestation by European settlers between 16, globally rare heathland habitats have resulted here. Vegetation includes pitch pine and scrub oak forests, heathlands, dunes, and sandplain grasslands. Inland there are kettle ponds, vernal pools, sphagnum bogs, and swamps. The park includes beaches, high cliff dunes, sand spits, tidal flats, salt marshes, and soft-bottom benthos. The Cape Cod National Seashore was created on Augby President John F. Two lighthouses (Highland or "Cape Cod" and Nauset) have been moved to keep them from toppling down eroding cliffs. Seashore history also includes shipwrecks and lifesaving. Cable stations were later established in North Eastham and Orleans. The station was closed in 1917 and scrapped in 1920, with the communication station being relocated to Chatham. On Januthe first public two-way communication (in Morse Code) between Europe and America occurred through this station. In 1902 Guglielmo Marconi built one of two North American wireless stations at South Wellfleet. Cape Cod had many good features, but after a month of searching, it was decided to finally settle in Plymouth. During these "discoveries" they found their first fresh water, took some Indian corn, and almost had a battle (called the First Encounter) with some Native Americans. They sent out three separate "discovery" expeditions to see what the area had to offer. In 1620, a group known as "The Pilgrims", a group of English Separatists seeking to establish a settlement in Virginia were forced to land here. American Indians began using the land at least 9,000 years ago. It is located on Cape Cod, principally in the towns of Provincetown, Truro, Wellfleet, and Eastham, but also covers some shoreline in Orleans and Chatham.Ĭape Cod is relatively young geologically at 18,000 years or so. The park is 20 miles east of Hyannis, MA.Cape Cod National Seashore stretches over 43,500 acres (176 km²) of dunes, ponds, woods and almost 40 miles (64 km) of Atlantic shoreline. The national seashore is located in eastern Massachusetts on Cape Cod and is accessed via Route 6. Swimming beaches and walking and biking trails beckon today's visitors. Lighthouses, cultural landscapes, and wild cranberry bogs offer a glimpse of Cape Cod's past and continuing ways of life. Forty miles of pristine sandy beach, marshes, ponds, and uplands support diverse species. The great Outer Beach described by Thoreau in the 1800s is protected within the national seashore.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |