Natural History

Cape Cod was formed approximately eighteen-thousand years ago by the receding Laurentide Ice Sheet. In its wake, rock debris created landmasses and waterbodies collectively known as the Cape and Islands. Glacial lobes advancing and retreating at various rates formed the Cape’s distinctive arm shape. As recently as fifteen-thousand years ago, Cape Cod Bay was a freshwater lake fed by retreating glaciers to the north.

Today’s Brewster Flats are deposits of constantly shifting sands nestled inside the Cape’s elbow. They result from a combination of the Cape’s unique topography, the forces of cross-shore erosion and longshore currents driven by wind and waves, and flowing water from lunar tidal cycles.

Thank you to Brewster resident, Steven Koppel, for providing images of the Brewster Flats through his lens