TheNational Park Service has designated elevenNational Natural Landmarks inMassachusetts. Most of these are bogs, swamps, wetlands andold-growth forest.
| Name | Image | Date | Location | County | Ownership | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acushnet Cedar Swamp |  | June 1972 | New Bedford 41°41′32″N70°57′35″W / 41.692222°N 70.959722°W /41.692222; -70.959722 (Acushnet Cedar Swamp) | Bristol | state | One of the state's largest, wildest and most impenetrable swamps, and an outstanding example of the diversity of conditions and species in the glaciated section of the oak-chestnut forest.[1] |
| Bartholomew's Cobble | .JPG) | October 1971 | Ashley Falls 42°03′26″N73°21′03″W / 42.057222°N 73.350833°W /42.057222; -73.350833 (Bartholomew's Cobble) | Berkshire | private (The Trustees of Reservations) | Contains over 800 plant species, including North America's greatest diversity offerns.[2] |
| Cold River Virgin Forest | April 1980 | Mohawk Trail State Forest 42°38′48″N72°56′47″W / 42.646667°N 72.946389°W /42.646667; -72.946389 (Cold River Virgin Forest) | Berkshire,Franklin | state | Probably the only virgin hemlock-northern hardwood forest in New England, with the hemlocks and sugar maples exceeding 400 years in age.[3] | |
| Fannie Stebbins Refuge |  | June 1972 | Longmeadow 42°02′22″N72°36′09″W / 42.039468°N 72.602584°W /42.039468; -72.602584 (Fannie Stebbins Refuge) | Hampden | municipal | The area contains the only sizeable example of Connecticut River flood plain under preservation, exhibiting many successional stages including upland and flood plain forest, swamp, marsh, ponds, and meadows.[4] |
| Gay Head Cliffs |  | October 1975 | Aquinnah 41°20′04″N70°47′45″W / 41.334444°N 70.795833°W /41.334444; -70.795833 (Gay Head Cliffs) | Dukes | native lands (Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head) | An unusual cross section of Raritan and Magothy sediments ofCretaceous age andfossil-bearing sands ofMiocene and eitherPliocene orPleistocene ages that rise as much as 150 feet (46 m) above sea level, resting on thecontinental shelf and detached from the mainland. The center ofWampanoag native culture.[5] |
| Hawley Bog |  | May 1974 | Hawley 42°34′33″N72°53′26″W / 42.575807°N 72.890564°W /42.575807; -72.890564 (Hawley Bog) | Franklin | private | Unspoiled cold northern boreal sphagnum-heath bog occupying an old shallow glacial lake basin which demonstrates bog succession from the central open water pond to the surrounding spruce-fir forest.[6] |
| Mt. Greylock Old Growth Spruce |  | November 1987 | Adams | Berkshire | state | This site contains three separate stands of undisturbed old growth red spruce on the northwest slopes ofMount Greylock, the highest mountain in Massachusetts. These stands have been undisturbed for at least 150–180 years, and may be virgin. No other old growth red spruce stands are known in southern New England, while only a few comparable or better sites occur in northern New England.[7] |
| Muskeget Island |  | April 1980 | west ofTuckernuck andNantucket Islands 41°20′07″N70°18′15″W / 41.335278°N 70.304167°W /41.335278; -70.304167 (Muskeget Island) | Nantucket | municipal, private | The only known locality where the Muskegetbeach vole is found, and southernmost station where thegray seal breeds. The area supports an enormous nesting population of herring gulls and black-backed gulls.[8] |
| North and South Rivers |  | May 1977 | Norwell 42°09′37″N70°42′51″W / 42.1604°N 70.7141°W /42.1604; -70.7141 (North and South Rivers) | Plymouth | state, municipal, private | Classic examples of drowned river-mouth estuaries, supporting at least 45 species of fish and many species of birds. The site contains salt marsh,brackish marsh, and freshwater marsh areas.[9] |
| Poutwater Pond |  | June 1972 | Holden 42°25′29″N71°50′18″W / 42.424722°N 71.83825°W /42.424722; -71.83825 (Poutwater Pond) | Worcester | state | An undisturbed sphagnum-heath bog in southern New England, illustrating ecological succession from open water in a glacial depression to upland forest.[10] |
| Reedy Meadow (wasLynnfield Marsh) |  | June 1972 | BetweenWakefield andSouth Lynnfield | Essex | municipal, | The largest freshwater cattail marsh in Massachusetts. The area preserves the habitat requirements of many bird species and serves as a breeding ground for the king rail and least bittern, rare species in the region.[11] |
