Plum Island (Massachusetts)Plum Island is a barrier island located off the northeastern coast of Massachusetts, north of Cape Ann, United States. It is approximately 11 miles (18 km) in length. The island is named for the wild beach plum shrubs that grow on its dunes, but is also famous for the purple sands at high tide, which derive their color from tiny crystals of pink pyrope garnet. It is located in parts of four municipalities in Essex County.
Essex County, MassachusettsEssex County is located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 census, the total population was 809,829, making it the third-most populous county in the state, and the seventy-eighth-most populous in the country. It is part of the Greater Boston area (the Boston–Cambridge–Newton, MA–NHMetropolitan Statistical Area). The largest city in Essex County is Lynn. The county was named after the English county of Essex.
Sandy Point State ReservationSandy Point State Reservation is a coastal Massachusettsstate park located in the town of Ipswich at the southern tip of Plum Island. The reservation is managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation and is an important nesting area for the piping plover and the least tern. Access to the reservation is through the adjoining Parker River National Wildlife Refuge.
Salem, MassachusettsCity in Massachusetts, United StatesSalem (, ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem was one of the most significant seaports for trading commodities in early American history.
Crane BeachCrane Beach is a 1,234-acre (4.99 km) conservation and recreation property located in Ipswich, Massachusetts, immediately north of Cape Ann. It consists of a four-mile-long (6 km) sandy beachfront, dunes, and a maritime pitch pine forest. Five and a half miles of hiking trails through the dunes and forest are accessible from the beachfront. Crane Beach is open year-round, and is free to Ipswich residents with the purchase of a yearly beach parking sticker.
Ipswich (CDP), MassachusettsIpswich is a census-designated place (CDP) located in the town of Ipswich in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 4,222 at the 2010 census.
Soft-shell clamSoft-shell clams (American English) or Sand gaper (British English/Europe), scientific nameMya arenaria, popularly called "steamers", "softshells", "piss clams", "Ipswich clams", or "Essex clams", are a species of edible saltwater clam, a marinebivalvemollusk in the family Myidae. Right and left valve of the same specimen: Habitat and distributionThese clams live buried in the sediment on tidalflats.
New England townThe town is the basic unit of local government and local division of state authority in the six New England states. Most other U.S. states lack a direct counterpart to the New England town. New England towns overlie the entire area of a state, similar to civil townships in other states where they exist, but they are fully functioning municipal corporations, possessing powers similar to cities and counties in other states.
ChowderChowder is a type of thick soup prepared with milk or cream, a roux, and seafood or vegetables. Oyster crackers or saltines may accompany chowders as a side item, and cracker pieces may be dropped atop the dish.
2020 United States census24th US national censusThe 2020 United States census was the 24th decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to offer options to respond online or by phone, in addition to the paper response form used for previous censuses. The census was taken during the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected its administration.
TourismTravel for recreational or leisure purposes"Tourist" redirects here. For other uses, see Tourist (other).Times Square in New York CityTourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel.
Barrier islandBarrier islands are a coastal landform, a type of dune system and sand island, where an area of sand off the coast has been formed by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. Barrier islands are commonly formed in long, narrow systems parallel to shorelines and are shaped by waves, tides, sediment movement, and sea-level change, which cause them to shift, grow, or erode over time.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.