Cape Cod

Cape Cod is a geographic cape/island and independent land mass separated from the mainland by the Cape Cod Canal that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean in the easternmost part of the state of Massachusetts in the Northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. 

Cape Cod stretches from Provincetown in the northeast to Woods Hole in the southwest. Cape Cod, as defined by the Cape Cod Commission's enabling legislation, comprises Barnstable County. The Cape Cod Canal cuts 17.5 miles (28.2 km) roughly across the base of the peninsula, though the western boundary of the cape extends to include small portions of the towns of Bourne and Sandwich which lie on the mainland side of the canal. 

Two road bridges cross the Cape Cod Canal: the Sagamore Bridge and the Bourne Bridge. In addition, the Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge carries railway freight and limited passenger services onto the Cape. Cape territory is divided into fifteen towns with many villages. 

Like Cape Cod itself, the islands south of the Cape have evolved from whaling and trading areas to become resort destinations, attracting wealthy families, celebrities, and other tourists. These include the large nearby islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard which have grown in population by 6.8 percent and 10.3 percent, respectively, between 2000 and 2010 while the year-round population of Barnstable County dropped 3 percent according to the Census. Both islands are also famous summer tourist destinations, commonly accessed by ferry from several locations on the cape. The phrases Cape Cod and the Islands and the Cape and Islands are often used to describe the whole region of Barnstable County, Dukes County (including the Vineyard and the smaller Elizabeth Islands), and Nantucket County. 

Several small islands right off Cape Cod, including Monomoy Island, Monomoscoy Island, Popponesset Island, and Seconsett Island, are also in Barnstable County. 

The Forbes family-owned Naushon Island was first purchased by John Murray Forbes. Naushon is one of the Elizabeth Islands, many of which are privately owned. One of the publicly accessible Elizabeths is the southernmost island in the chain, Cuttyhunk, with a year-round population of 52 people. Several prominent families have established compounds or estates on the larger islands, making these islands some of the wealthiest resorts in the Northeast, yet they retain much of the early merchant trading and whaling culture. 

Cape Cod in particular is a popular retirement area; 27.8% of the population of Barnstable County is 65 years old or older., and the average age of residents is the highest of any area in New England.By voter registration numbers, Democrats outnumber Republicans by less in the three counties than in the whole of Massachusetts, to varying degrees. 

The bulk of the land in the area is glacial terminal moraine and represents the southernmost extent of glacial coverage in southeast New England; similar glacial formations make up Long Island in New York and Block Island in Rhode Island. 

The name "Cape Cod", as it was first used in 1602, applied only to the very tip of the peninsula. It remained that way for 125 years, until the "Precinct of Cape Cod" was incorporated as the Town of Provincetown. No longer in "official" use over the ensuing decades, the name came to mean all of the land east of the Manomet and Scusset rivers – essentially along the line that became the Cape Cod Canal. The creation of the canal separated the majority of the peninsula from the mainland, effectively turning it into an island. Indeed, most agencies, including the Cape Cod Commission and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), treat the Cape as an island with regards to disaster preparedness, groundwater management, and the like. Most "Cape Codders" – residents of "The Cape" – refer to all land on the mainland side of the canal as "off-Cape." However, the legal delineation of Cape Cod, coincident to the boundaries of Barnstable County, extends to the northwest boundaries of the towns of Bourne and Sandwich – and small portions of each are located west of the canal. 

Cape Cod Bay lies in between Cape Cod and the mainland – bounded on the north by a horizontal line between Provincetown and Marshfield. North of Cape Cod Bay (and Provincetown) is Massachusetts Bay, which contains the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, located 5 miles (8 km) north of Provincetown. The Atlantic Ocean is to the east of Cape Cod, and to the southwest of the Cape is Buzzards Bay. The Cape Cod Canal, completed in 1916, connects Buzzards Bay to Cape Cod Bay; its creation shortened the trade route between New York and Boston by 62 miles (100 km).

Cape Cod extends 65 miles (105 km) into the Atlantic Ocean, with a breadth of between 1–20 miles (1.6–32.2 km), and covers more than 400 miles (640 km) of shoreline. Its elevation ranges from 306 feet (93 m) at its highest point, at the top of Pine Hill, in the Bourne portion of Joint Base Cape Cod, down to sea level. 

One of the biggest barrier islands in the world, Cape Cod shields much of the Massachusetts coastline from North Atlantic storm waves. This protection erodes the Cape's shoreline at the expense of its cliffs, while protecting towns from Fairhaven to Marshfield. 

Cape Cod and the Islands are part of a continuous archipelagic region consisting of a thin line of islands stretching west to include Long Island, in New York. This region is historically and collectively known by naturalists as the Outer Lands.