2 
TARR AND WOODWORTH: CHANGES OF LEVEL AT CAPE ANN. 183 
ern part of the Cape in general, which were then at a lower level, were 
open to sea action. 
Whether the land at that time stood even lower than the limit indi- 
cated by the beaches cannot be positively stated, although the very rocky | 
and bouldery condition of the eastern section of the Cape, including the 
bear-den moraines, suggests this explanation. An alternate explanation 
of the rocky eastern section is that while the ice was standing here, the 
waters formed by its melting, and from the melting of the snows in the 
spring, were enabled to wash the loose accumulations from the hills of 
Eastern Point and elsewhere. That is the explanation of similar condi- 
tions in Greenland ; and, in fact, there is a close resemblance, in a small 
way, between the bare rock hills of Eastern Point, with the frequent 
perched boulders, and the rocky surface of the Greenland coast line, 
which is strewn with boulders perched often in rather unstable positions. 
Sand Dunes. — On the island which forms the end of the Cape there 
are at the present time practically no sand dunes, with the exception of 
some low ridges just above high tide, developed along two or three of the 
beaches, especially those on the southeastern side. West of the estuary 
of Squam “ River,” however, there is an extensive development of sand 
dunes supplied from the sand of Coffins’ Beach. These dunes had their 
beginning a little over a century ago, when the forest was stripped away, 
and are still in process of formation, On the opposite, or eastern side of 
Squam “ River ” is a stretch of dunes (Plate 1) extending with consid- 
erable continuity from the village of Annisquam to Folly Cove beyond 
Lanesville, a distance of three and a half miles ; but these dunes have long 
since ceased forming, and there is no evidence of source of supply for 
them. Instead of being composed of white sand, and supporting only 
the sparse sand dune vegetation, these dunes (Plate 6) are throughout, 
from top to bottom, discolored to a yellow through the formation of 
hydrous oxides of iron formed by the decay of the mica and hornblende 
bits which constitute a part of the dune sand. These dunes reach to an 
elevation of from 80 to 100 feet above sea level, and some of the individ- 
ual hills have a height of fully 25 feet. In all but one of the places 
where the bottom could be seen, the sand rests upon bed rock with no 
soil between. The exception mentioned is near the head of Lobster 
Cove at Annisquam, where the sand rests upon an angular, roughly strati- 
fied accumulation of pebbles, clay, and sand resembling the deposits now 
being made along the coast of this well-enclosed cove. In several places, 
scattered, well-rounded pebbles were found resting on the granite at the 
base of the sand. 
