Not Just a Pile of Sand - The Geologic Story Behind the Cape and Islands
Written: Nov 20 '03 (Updated Nov 20 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Easy to Understand, Plenty of Figures, Drawings and Photographs to Back up Text
Cons: While geared towards any reader, some may want more details
The Bottom Line: Did you see the Bottom Line surfing that wave?
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| jps246's Full Review: Robert N. Oldale - Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard & N... |
How interesting could the geologic history of a big sand pile really be? Robert Oldale proves in Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, the Geologic Story, shows that nothing is ever really as simple as you might think that first glance.
While Massachusetts’ Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket and other islands and shoals are a giant collection of sand and glacial outwash, there is a very interesting and engaging story behind their deposition and current erosion.
Oldale starts with a basic discussion of the bedrock well beneath the Cape and Islands and ends his book with what the future Cape and Islands may look like. In the intervening pages, he tells an engaging and interesting story of why the Cape and Islands are the way they are today and what is happening to them now as they enter the future.
Unfortunately for Cape and Island lovers, eventually with rising sea levels and the weak nature of the sediments on the Cape and Islands, they will slowly erode away into undersea banks and shallows. However, don’t sell your land on Nantucket quite yet, as this is a gradual process that will take hundreds, if not thousands of years to complete. In the meantime, if you have beachfront property – you may want to consider putting up a for sale sign because the property probably won’t be there all that long.
At 207 pages, Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, the Geologic Story, delves into the geologic story of Cape Cod and the Islands without getting too bogged down on all the details. Any one area the book touches on could likely make up several books of its own, there is that much information and research out there. But instead, Oldale spends his time on weaving a coherent picture of glacial and post-glacial history of Cape Cod and the Islands.
This is because the last glaciation produced the Cape and the Islands. They mark the final extent of glaciation across this area of North America. As the glaciers slowed down and finally stopped, debris and other materials in the glaciers were deposited at its head, which was located in the area of Cape Cod and the Islands (if you were to get technical, the area actually represents several advances, stops and retreats of the continental glacier). The sediments piled up in front of the glacier and when it finally melted back and continued retreating to the north, this sediment pile was left sitting on the exposed continental shelf.
The shelf was exposed because ocean levels were significantly lower during the ice age, as much water was locked up in the ice of the glaciers that were covering the land. Therefore, when the glacier advanced into the Cape and Islands area, it was above sea level and the deposition at the end of the glacier occurred in an area that was not submerged by the sea.
As the glaciers melted, the oceans rose and soon submerged many of the sediments in the Cape and Islands area. However, the Cape and the Islands marked the thickest sediments on the shelf and because of that thickness, remain above sea level. The ocean almost immediately started to rework the sands and gravels of the Cape and Islands and that is what gives them their distinct shapes they have today.
Since sea level is slowly rising (the rise has been documented in New England – and I will not conjecture on it’s cause – there are many explanations) erosion continues on the Cape and the Islands and like I said before, eventually the ocean will overtake them either through a rising sea level, or just normal coastal erosion of their sediments.
Now if that quick overview has gotten your attention, then Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, the Geologic Story is a book for you. Oldale provides a richer story, further history and more explanations behind the Cape and the Islands that you see today.
This book is neither geared for the complete novice or for a geologic professional, it follows a fine line between story telling, presentation of fact, and geologic thinking. All this and the book remains eminently readable. Extensive figures and photographs accompany the text, providing additional information for the reader and graphically explaining many of the ideas discussed in the text.
Following the main text, Oldale provides a field trip guide to get a first hand geologic overview of Cape Cod (this does not cover the Islands). The guide is thorough, easy to understand and easy to follow as you drive around the Cape. I recommend that anyone who visits the Cape with any interest in its geologic history, take a few hours to follow this tour – you will learn something and you’ll get to see many of the treasures that make the Cape so much fun to visit.
An excellent set of appendices follow the main text and the field guide in Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, the Geologic Story and include information on topics such as: the topographic quadrangle maps for Cape Cod and the Islands; Map Scales; Geology and Soils Maps of the Cape and Islands; The water resources of the Cape and Islands; an explanation of earthquake scales; and other books that are available on the natural history of the Cape and the Islands.
Finally rounding out the book is an excellent glossary that provides definitions for many of the geologic terms used throughout the book.
Anyone with a passing interest in the natural history of the Cape and the Islands should pick up a copy of this book. It is available in most of the National Seashore visitor centers (I purchased my copy at the visitor center in Provincetown) for $14.95. Pick it up, read it over, and start looking at the Cape and Islands in a whole new light.
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Recommended:
Yes
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