The Cape Cod National Seashore (CCNS), created on August 7, 1961, by
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
, encompasses
on
Cape Cod
Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...
, in
. It includes ponds, woods and beachfront of the
Atlantic coastal pine barrens
The Atlantic coastal pine barrens is a now rare temperate coniferous forest ecoregion of the Northeast United States distinguished by unique species and topographical features ( coastal plain ponds, frost pocket), generally nutrient-poor, often ...
ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...
. The CCNS includes nearly of seashore along the Atlantic-facing eastern shore of Cape Cod, in the towns of
Provincetown
Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States Census, Provincet ...
,
Truro
Truro (; kw, Truru) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its ...
,
Wellfleet,
Eastham,
Orleans and
Chatham
Chatham may refer to:
Places and jurisdictions Canada
* Chatham Islands (British Columbia)
* Chatham Sound, British Columbia
* Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi
* Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...
. It is administered by the
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
.
Places of interest
Notable sites encompassed by the CCNS include
Marconi Station
A list of early wireless telegraphy radio stations of the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Co. Guglielmo Marconi developed the first practical radio transmitters and receivers between 1895 and 1901. His company, the Marconi Wireless Telegraph ...
(site of the first two-way transatlantic radio transmission), the Highlands Center for the Arts (formerly the
North Truro Air Force Station
North Truro Air Force Station (AFS) is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located east of North Truro, Massachusetts.
Most of the site was inactivated by 1994 and turned over to the National Park Servi ...
), the
Dune Shacks of Peaked Hill Bars Historic District
The Dune Shacks of Peaked Hill Bars Historic District includes dune shacks that were home to American artists and writers from the 1920s to present day. The historic district, located in the Outer Cape towns of Provincetown and Truro, comprises ...
(a 1,950-acre historic district containing dune shacks and the dune environment), and the
glacial erratic
A glacial erratic is glacially deposited rock differing from the type of rock native to the area in which it rests. Erratics, which take their name from the Latin word ' ("to wander"), are carried by glacial ice, often over distances of hundred ...
known as
Doane Rock
Doane Rock is a glacial erratic located in Eastham, Massachusetts on the grounds of the Cape Cod National Seashore. It is the largest exposed boulder on Cape Cod. It stands 18 feet (5.5 m) high and extends below the ground an estimated 12 feet ...
.
A former
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...
station on the ocean in Truro is now operated as a 42-bed
youth hostel
A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared ba ...
by
Hostelling International
Hostelling International (HI), formerly known as International Youth Hostel Federation (IYHF), is a grouping of more than seventy National Youth Hostel Associations in over eighty countries, with over 4,000 affiliated hostels around the world ...
USA.
There are several paved bike trails:
* Nauset Bike Trail—Eastham
* Head of the Meadow Trail—Truro
* Province Lands Trails—Provincetown
There are several excellent beaches along the coastline with public facilities available seasonally. These include
Race Point Beach in Provincetown and
Coast Guard Beach in Eastham. Both of these have made "top beaches in the US" lists over the years.
Restoration and conservation efforts
As part of the NPS Centennial Initiative, the
Herring River estuary will be restored to its natural state through removal of dikes and drains that date back to 1909.
In 2010, the North of Highland Campground was protected with a conservation easement.
The Trust for Public Land
The Trust for Public Land is a U.S. nonprofit organization with a mission to "create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come". Since its founding in 1972, the Trust for Public Land has compl ...
, the Association to Preserve Cape Cod, the Truro Conservation Trust, and other groups led a grassroots campaign to support the funding for the purchase price of the conservation easement from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), secured by U.S. Senator John Kerry, U.S. Representative Bill Delahunt, and former Senator Ted Kennedy.
The Biddle Property, home of the late
Francis Biddle
Francis Beverley Biddle (May 9, 1886 – October 4, 1968) was an American lawyer and judge who was the United States Attorney General during World War II. He also served as the primary American judge during the postwar Nuremberg Trials as well a ...
, who was the U.S. attorney general during WWII and served as the primary American judge during the post-war Nuremberg trials, was added to the Cape Cod National Seashore in 2011. Using funding from the
Land and Water Conservation Fund
The United States' Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) is a federal program that was established by Act of Congress in 1965 to provide funds and matching grants to federal, state and local governments for the acquisition of land and water, and ...
, the
Trust for Public Land
The Trust for Public Land is a U.S. nonprofit organization with a mission to "create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come". Since its founding in 1972, the Trust for Public Land has compl ...
purchased the property and conveyed it to the National Park Service.
Gallery
Image:CCNS Sign.jpg, An entrance to the Cape Cod National Seashore in Eastham, Massachusetts
Eastham () is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, Barnstable County being coextensive with Cape Cod. The population was 5,752 at the 2020 census.
For geographic and demographic information about the village of North Eastham ...
Image:Ccnatsea.jpg, Cape Cod National Seashore
Image:Nauset-light-cape-cod.jpg, Nauset Light
Image:Highland-light-cape-cod.jpg, View from Highland Light
Image:Marconi-beach-cape-cod.jpg, Marconi Beach
Image:Race point sunset.jpg, Late July Sunset at Race Point Beach
Image:Salt Pond Visitor Center, Cape Cod National Seashore, Eastham MA.jpg, Salt Pond Visitor Center
See also
*
Coast Guard Beach (Eastham, Massachusetts)
Coast Guard Beach is part of the Cape Cod National Seashore in Eastham, Massachusetts. From mid-June to Labor Day, the parking area at this location is closed to all but park staff and visitors who are disabled, and access is provided by shuttle ...
*
East Harbor
East Harbor is a tidal estuary in Truro, Massachusetts that was originally a harbor until it was cut off from Cape Cod Bay to form a salt marsh lagoon, later renamed Pilgrim Lake. It is now within the Cape Cod National Seashore.
Original Harbor
U ...
*
*
Nauset Light Beach
*
Race Point Light
Race Point Light is a historic lighthouse on Cape Cod, in Provincetown, Massachusetts; it is on the National Register of Historic Places. The original tower, first illuminated in 1816, was replaced in 1876 with the current 45-foot tall iron-plated ...
References
External links
Cape Cod National Seashore National Park Service website.
Coastal Landforms and Processes at the Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts: A PrimerU.S. Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and ...
Park map showing roads, beaches, and trails National Park Service map pdf.
A National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan.
* Portnoy, J. W. et al.,
Kettle Pond Data Atlas for Cape Cod National Seashore: Paleoecology and Modern Water Chemistry' April 2001, 118 pp., Retrieved June 23, 2018.
{{Authority control
1961 establishments in Massachusetts
Chatham, Massachusetts
Eastham, Massachusetts
Landforms of Barnstable County, Massachusetts
Beaches of Massachusetts
Landmarks in Barnstable County, Massachusetts
Massachusetts natural resources
National Park Service areas in Massachusetts
National Seashores of the United States
Orleans, Massachusetts
Protected areas of Barnstable County, Massachusetts
Protected areas established in 1961
Provincetown, Massachusetts
Tourist attractions in Barnstable County, Massachusetts
Truro, Massachusetts
Wellfleet, Massachusetts