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Cape Cod/Long Island

Ecoregion in NY, RI, MA

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The Cape Cod/Long Island ecoregion includes Cape Cod and an inland area from Plymouth to the head of Buzzards Bay, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, and the Elizabeth Islands of Massachusetts, Rhode Island’s Block Island, and a large part of New York’s Long Island. These lands were made by the continental glacial ice sheet, with the advances and retreats of three lobes of the Wisconsinan stage playing a major role in the formation of Cape Cod. The resulting terminal moraines, outwash plains, and coastal deposits, reshaped by wind and water, are the dominant landform features. Elevations are mostly less than 150 feet, and relief is typically less than 60 feet. Cape Cod’s bedrock geology of granites, gneiss, and schist has limited ecological relevance because it is covered with 200 to 400 feet or more of gravel, sand, silt and clay. Mesic Entisols are common, and soils are often well-drained to excessively-drained on the sandy outwash plains. Sandy and loamy soils occur on moraines, and a few areas of finer-textured soils have developed in the glacial lake deposits. Some of the unique ecological features that distinguish this ecoregion from mainland ecoregions include its moderate maritime climate, stunted pine and oak forests, numerous kettle ponds, and unique habitats in salt and freshwater marshes, swamps, bogs, and sand dunes. Many of the lakes are low in alkalinity values, and have variable nutrient levels.

— EPA

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