SAND DUNES AND SALT MARSHES 



face, but sinking deeply into the steep leeward 

 sides. The '' amphitheatre " dunes so com- 

 mon at Ipswich, with the steep side to wind- 

 ward do not occur there, owing to the absence 

 of binding vegetation. 



Where the winds are irregular, as under 

 the brow of Castle Hill, the dunes are often 

 circular and cut out on all sides. Some have 

 flat tops and stand out like miniature buttes, 

 showing sections of nearly horizontal strata 

 on all sides, while others are peaked or pyram- 

 idal in shape, and the circular scour of the 

 winds gradually reduces their height without 

 changing their shape. 



The sand dune on the edge of the beach 

 shown here— the frontispiece of the ^^ Birds 

 of Essex County " — was photographed in 

 1900, but by 1907 it had been entirely effaced. 

 I always called this Eagle Dune, as I had 

 watched a bald eagle perched on its summit, 

 but there is a tradition that it long bore 

 the name of ^' the headless sailor," for hu- 

 man remains of this description had been 

 found washed up at its base many years be- 

 fore. 



In places there are pits in the sand which 

 are so continually scoured by the wind that 



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