Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve Reading the Cultural Landscape

LOOKING AT LANDSCAPES

Introduction to Natural Features

Looking at landscapes involves identifying the individual elements and resources that taken together, create the whole landscape. Natural features such as landforms, soil types and vegetation form the physical parameters within which the built landscape develops.

The built landscape, based on human adaption to the natural environment and use of available resources, is reflected in the types of land use, style and function of structures, and systems of transportation.

When we look at our surroundings, we do not always see these elements so singularly. Often however, identifying each as a specific resource in the context of the whole landscape enhances our understanding of the relationships among these elements, and enriches our understanding of a place and its history.

Formed by geological processes, the various natural resources of a landscape develop over many years. From the earliest shaping of physical land forms to the formation of soils and the establishment of vegetation patterns, these kinds of resources can have a strong influence on settlement patterns and on the physical development of a community over time.

Other reports provide comprehensive inventories of the reserve's natural resources (see bibliography). The following summary considers a few specific resources as they developed and influenced settlement patterns on the reserve.