Date: October 1, 2007
Contact: Christiana Admiral, North District Interpreter, 508 487 1256

Cape Cod National Seashore Chief of Interpretation Sue Moynihan has announced that on Saturday, October 20th at 2:00 PM, interpretive park ranger Thomas Parsons will present Mapping Provincetown. The forty-five minute presentation will use maps, bird’s eye view photographs and satellite imagery to chronicle the topographic, geological and cultural transformation of Provincetown. The sandy fist of Cape Cod began to form after the glaciers receded over 10,000 years ago, steadily growing as wind and waves transported sediments from off the backshore. Since their arrival in the seventeenth century, European settlers have impacted the area’s geography as well, through processes such as deforestation and development. The landscape changes of Provincetown have been recorded through a variety of visual records over the past few centuries, from the primitive cartography of early explorers to sophisticated images produced by researchers using GIS technology. The presentation will examine various representations of Provincetown, illustrating how the land has been reshaped over the years through both human and natural causes. The program is free, accessible, and open to the public.

For additional information, contact the Province Lands Visitor Center at (508) 487-1256. Each Saturday for the rest of October, the Province Lands Visitor Center will host special presentations. A listing of the national seashore’s programs is available at the two seashore visitor centers, or on-line at www.nps.gov/caco.