Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve Reading the Cultural Landscape

READING THE LANDSCAPE

Overall Landscape Patterns

The first level of identification describes the patterns and relationships among several large landscape systems including major landforms, primary circulation networks and broad land use patterns. Identification of character for other elements, and can be accomplished using aerial photographs, topographic maps or direct observation.

Identification of large settlement patterns is valuable because, while smaller elements such as houses, crops, building materials, fence lines and property boundaries may change frequently, these broad patterns of settlement often remain for generations.