12.001 FIELD TRIP DUE: FRIDAY, APRIL 30

World’s End Reservation, Hingham, Ma

We’ll be carrying out a mapping project on the Rocky Neck peninsula of the World’s End Reserve in

Hingham, MA. The exposure along the shoreline is excellent and there is some scattered outcrop in

the woods. We’ll guide you to the outcrops, but it will be up to you to locate yourself, decide on the

lithology and make a map!

You will turn in the following:

1. Field notes. You will hand in the notes you make in the field. Make plenty of careful notes for

each outcrop (which you should number to correspond to your map), as well as sketches. In

particular, devote at least one page of description to each different rock type you encounter.

You won’t be able to visit this area again, so you’ll need to make sure you get all your

observations and ideas down the first time. Otherwise you will forget something.

2. A map. We’ll provide you with many blank topographic maps. You will need to put the

geology on the basemap, ink it, color it and provide a legend.

3. A stratigraphic column. This should include all rock types observed in the map area. Estimate

unit thicknesses, key the units to the map (with color or a pattern), and indicate the presence of

faults.

4. A geologic history. Write up the geologic history as inferred from your map. Discuss

depositional environment, subsequent deformation, erosion and glaciation. Be sure to explain

uncertainties in stratigraphic relationships, depositional environment, the relative timing of

events, etc. Divide the geologic history into two sections: Observations, and Discussion. Be

clear about what you know and what you interpret.

Some things to think about:

• What is the mineralogy, texture, composition and depositional environment of each rock unit?

• What are the relative ages of different units and of deformational events? If you can’t tell for

sure, what kind of constraints can you put on relative ages?

• How has glaciation impacted the area?

Brief Background of World’s End:

World's End comprises four coastal drumlins -- Pine Hill, Planter's Hill, and the double drumlins of

World's End proper -- all connected by over four miles of walking paths that offer dramatic views of

the Weir River, Hingham Harbor, and the Boston skyline. The Reservation's hills are traversed by tree-

lined roads and dotted with tree groves. In between are broad grassy fields that attract butterflies and

are managed to provide habitat for grassland-nesting birds.

John Brewer built a mansion along Martin's Lane in 1856 and, over the next thirty years, acquired most

of the peninsula as well as Sarah and Langley Islands. His farming estate was vast and varied. He

produced hay and crops and raised thoroughbred horses, Jersey cattle, pigs, chickens, and sheep. To

support these operations, Brewer built a complex of farm buildings that included a blacksmith shop,

greenhouses, a smokehouse, and homes for farmhands and their families.

In 1889, Brewer asked landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted to design a residential subdivision

for World's End. His plan included 163 house plots connected by tree-lined roads. The cart paths were

cut and the trees planted, but the development never occurred.

At the time of its acquisition by The Trustees in 1967, World's End was one of the most threatened

landscapes on Massachusetts' entire coast. The peninsula had survived a 1945 proposal to construct a

new United Nations Headquarters and a 1965 proposal to build a nuclear power plant.

World's End is one of the 30 islands of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreational Area,

designated in 1996. Unlike most National Parks, this park is administered by a partnership of national,

state, and local representatives called the Boston Harbor Islands Partnership. The Trustees of

Reservations owns and manages World's End. A Trustees representative serves on the 13-member

partnership board that oversees the management plan for the Boston Harbor Islands national park area.

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WORLD’S ENDHINGHAM, MA (251 ACRES)A P R O P E R T Y O F T H E T R U S T E E S O F R E S E R V A T I O N S

WO R L D ’ S E N D ! Martin ’s Lane, Hingham, MA ! FOR INFORMATION CALL 781/821-2977 ! EMAIL seregion@ttor.org

www.thetrustees.org

Hingham Harbor

Martin’s Cove

Porter’s Cove

Ice Pond

Weir River

World’s End

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Langley Island

Sarah Island

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