Tuckernuck is an island in the town and former whaling port of

Nantucket Nantucket () is an island in the state of Massachusetts in the United States, about south of the Cape Cod peninsula. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck Island, Tuckernuck and Muskeget Island, Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and Co ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, west of Nantucket Island and east of

Muskeget Island Muskeget Island ( ) is a low, sandy island to the west of Tuckernuck Island and Nantucket, in the town of Nantucket, Massachusetts, United States. Geography Muskeget Island is part of the terminal moraine marking the maximum extent of the last ...

. Its name allegedly means "a loaf of bread". The island has an area of about . The highest point is about .

Settlement

The island is privately owned by its summer residents. Approximately 35 houses have been built on Tuckernuck; the oldest home on the island was built in the mid-18th century. The island has no paved roads or public utilities. Electricity is generated by gasoline-powered generators and

solar panel A solar panel is a device that converts sunlight into electricity by using photovoltaic (PV) cells. PV cells are made of materials that produce excited electrons when exposed to light. These electrons flow through a circuit and produce direct ...

s. Water comes from several wells on the island and water heaters are generally gasoline-powered, as are the stoves. The island has some cars, but most of the motorized transportation is provided by golf carts.

Geology

Tuckernuck was originally formed by the terminal

moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and Rock (geology), rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a gla ...

of the last glacial episode (

Wisconsin glaciation The Wisconsin glaciation, also called the Wisconsin glacial episode, was the most recent glacial period of the North American ice sheet complex, peaking more than 20,000 years ago. This advance included the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, which nucleated ...

). It still retains remnants of the moraine as low hills, but the southern half of the island consists of outwash plains ('' sandur'') characterized by coastal heathland, a globally restricted and endangered plant community.

Flora and fauna

Coastal heathland occurs only in the Northeast United States, from Long Island, NY, to Cape Cod, MA. Dominant species include little bluestem ('' Schizachyrium scoparium''), bearberry ('' Arctostaphylos uva-ursi''), and low ericaceous shrubs (Family: ''

Ericaceae The Ericaceae () are a Family (biology), family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing conditions. The family is large, with about 4,250 known species spread acros ...

''). There are extensive areas of scrub oak ('' Quercus ilicifolia'') vegetation of up to in height, along with pitch pine ('' Pinus rigida''), black huckleberry (''

Gaylussacia baccata ''Gaylussacia baccata'', the black huckleberry, is a common huckleberry found throughout a wide area of eastern North America. Description ''Gaylussacia baccata'' is a shrub up to 150 cm (5 feet) tall, forming extensive colonies. Flowers ...

'') and sweet pepperbush ('' Clethra alnifolia''). Red maple ('' Acer rubrum'') and black gum ('' Nyssa sylvatica'') trees occur in kettlehole swamps. Other plants include American beachgrass ('' Ammophila breviligulata''), seaside goldenrod ('' Solidago sempervirens''), poison ivy (''

Toxicodendron radicans ''Toxicodendron radicans'', commonly known as eastern poison ivy or poison ivy, is a species of allergenic flowering plant. It has numerous subtaxons and forms both vines and shrubs. Despite its common name, it is not a true ivy, but rather a m ...

''), bayberry ('' Myrica pensylvanica''), beach plum ('' Prunus maritima''), saltspray rose ('' Rosa rugosa'') and other shrubs on the stabilized dunes. There are a few small freshwater marshes and a salt marsh dominated by cordgrass (''

Spartina alterniflora ''Sporobolus alterniflorus'', or synonymously known as ''Spartina alterniflora'', the smooth cordgrass, saltmarsh cordgrass, or salt-water cordgrass, is a perennial deciduous grass which is found in intertidal wetlands, especially estuarine salt ...

''). The largest concentration of

Long-tailed Duck The long-tailed duck (''Clangula hyemalis'') or coween, is a medium-sized sea duck that breeds in the tundra and taiga regions of the arctic and winters along the northern coastlines of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It is the only member of ...

(''Clangula hyemalis'') in the western Atlantic occurs nearby (counts of over 150,000 have been recorded), along with thousands of common eiders (''Somateria mollissima'') and three species of

scoter The scoters are stocky seaducks in the genus ''Melanitta''. The drakes are mostly black and have swollen bills, the females are brown. They breed in the far north of Europe, Asia, and North America, and bird migration, winter further south in te ...

(''Melanitta'' spp.). In late summer a thousand or more roseate

tern Terns are seabirds in the family Laridae, subfamily Sterninae, that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands. Terns are treated in eleven genera in a subgroup of the family Laridae, which also ...

s (''Sterna dougallii''), a U.S. endangered species, feed near here in preparation for their southward migration. Extensive sandspits on Tuckernuck are favored haul-out points for large numbers of harbor and gray seals (''Phoca vitulina'' and ''Halichoerus grypus'', respectively). The island also supports many other state and federally rare species, including Nantucket shadbush (''Amelanchier nantucketensis''), a candidate species for listing under the Endangered Species Act; several pairs of

short-eared owl The short-eared owl (''Asio flammeus'') is a widespread grassland species in the family Strigidae. Owls belonging to genus ''Asio'' are known as the eared owls, as they have tufts of feathers resembling mammalian ears. These "ear" tufts may or ...

(''Asio flammeus'');

piping plover The piping plover (''Charadrius melodus'') is a small sand-colored, Passerellidae, sparrow-sized wader, shorebird that nests and feeds along coastal sand and gravel beaches in North America. The adult has yellow-orange-red legs, a black band acro ...

(''Charadrius melodus''), a U.S. threatened species; least tern (''Sterna antillarum'');

northern harrier The northern harrier (''Circus hudsonius''), also known as the marsh hawk or ring-tailed hawk, is a bird of prey. It breeds throughout the northern parts of the northern hemisphere in Canada and the northernmost United States, USA. The northern ...

(''Circus cyaneus'') and

common tern The common tern (''Sterna hirundo'') is a seabird in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, its four subspecies breeding in Temperateness, temperate and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia and North America. It is stron ...

(''Sterna hirundo'').

Public access

The southeast end of the island has a grass airstrip, Tuckernuck Airport, which is seldom used.

Popular culture

Tuckernuck is one of the settings for ''Death on Tuckernuck'', a book in the series of Merry Folger mystery novels by Francine Mathews.

References

External links

Island of Nantucket.info Tuckernuck Photo Gallery

* ttp://www.nha.org/history/hn/HN-dunham-yoho.htm Tuckernuck and the Yoho by Gertrude Dunham
"The Island" by Elin Hilderbrand
{{Authority control Islands of Nantucket, Massachusetts Coastal islands of Massachusetts Private islands of Massachusetts