Kettle Hole Ponds

June 18, 2010

CRITICAL CAPE COD HABITATS
Kettle Hole Ponds

No Bottom Pond Sancturay, Brewster

Most ponds and lakes on Cape Cod are the result of kettle hole depressions left by glacial ice chunks from the last glacial maximum. Their water levels are determined by precipitation and groundwater fluctuations. Human consumption of this water threatens these ponds.

An example of a kettle hole pond is found in the No Bottom Pond Sanctuary.

No Bottom Pond Sanctuary: A classic Cape Cod kettle hole system, consists of 28 acres located in Brewster and protected in 1996.

Plants that are protected within these habitats are:

  • Water celery
  • Pond weeds
  • Water lilies
  • Military rush

Animals that live within kettle hole ponds :

  • Freshwater mussels
  • Pickerel frogs
  • Painted turtles
  • Green herons
Posted in Wildlife & Habitats