Sep. 27, 2007 - FALMOUTH HAD A GLACIER ONCE!

Falmouth's Glacier!
Everyone loves Cape Cod as the summer traffic demonstrates, but most people are not aware of how Cape Cod came about. It's fascinating, reading about the geology of our area. The book that I have is 'A Geologist's View of Cape Cod' by Arthur N. Strahler. It's probably our of print, but there are editions by other authors in the bookstores. For example, did you know that the glacier over Falmouth was about a mile thick and that it covered Cape Cod a mere 10,000 years ago. When it melted and receeded north the dirt, sand, boulders, and gravel contained within the glacier actually formed the Cape and created all the ponds and kettle holes that you see. The glacier originally extended as far as Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard and formed them about 13,000 years ago when it first began to melt. It continued to receed for a while, stopped during another cold spell then formed the Cape as it melted northward. At that time, the ocean was about 300' lower and was out of sight if you looked out from what is now Woods Hole. Try to learn more, you'll fascinate your friends when they visit you in Falmouth. - DAVID

Copyright © 2007 By David F. Kelley, Falmouth, MA.
All Rights Reserved.