Walden Pond
Walden Pond is a notable large pond located near Concord, Massachusetts, celebrated primarily for its association with the transcendentalist writer Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau famously documented his experiences living in a small cabin by the pond in his book, "Walden," which explores themes of simple living and harmony with nature. The pond and its surrounding 2,680 acres, known as Walden Woods, are preserved as part of the Walden Pond State Reservation, a National Historic Landmark established to protect the area from development.
Originally formed by glacial activity around 10,000 to 15,000 years ago, Walden Pond is renowned for its depth of approximately 102 feet and its unique hydrology, lacking both an inlet and outlet. The area has been a significant site for both historical and environmental study, with scientists comparing current wildlife data to Thoreau's observations from the mid-1800s. Despite conservation efforts, the pond faces ecological challenges, including pollution from increased visitor activity and the impacts of climate change, which have altered its ice patterns and biodiversity. Visitors today can enjoy recreational activities such as swimming, hiking, and exploring a reconstruction of Thoreau's cabin, while also reflecting on the enduring legacy of Thoreau's philosophies.
Walden Pond
Walden Pond is a large pond near Concord, Massachusetts. The pond is best known through Henry David Thoreau's book Walden, which he began writing while living in a small cabin near the pond. Today, the pond is part of a state reservation and is a popular destination for tourists and hikers. The pond itself is designated a National Historic Landmark. Many tourists visit the pond each year to learn more about Thoreau and to enjoy the natural habitat. The state of Massachusetts and other organizations have purchased much of the land surrounding the pond to prevent people from developing the area with buildings and roads.
Background
Walden Pond formed roughly 10,000 to 15,000 years ago when a glacier carved out land and partially melted into the leftover recess. Walden Pond is a deep pond at roughly 102 feet (31 meters) deep. The deep pond has a great deal of water in it, but it does not have an inlet or an outlet. The water inside the pond fluctuates only because of evaporation and precipitation. The pond is surrounded by roughly 2,680 acres of forest, which is called Walden Woods.
The pond was most likely a resource for Native Americans before European settlers arrived. By the 1800s, an author and transcendentalist named Ralph Waldo Emerson owned some of the land surrounding the pond. Emerson was friends with fellow transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau. Transcendentalism was a philosophy that valued thought over empirical evidence. In the mid-1800s, Thoreau decided that he wanted to live a "more deliberate life." For Thoreau, that meant moving away from the rest of society into the woods. His friend and fellow transcendentalist Emerson owned 14 acres of land near Walden Pond at the time. Thoreau asked to use Emerson's land to conduct his experiment in deliberate living.
Thoreau and some of his friends constructed a small cabin on the site, and Thoreau moved in on July 4, 1845. During his stay in the woods, Thoreau studied nature in great detail. He kept a journal and wrote down many details about the natural world. He also wrote the book Walden; or, Life in the Woods, which examined how people could find the meaning of life through simple living and harmony with nature. He also farmed the land and grew some of his own food. Although Thoreau was living simply and more deliberately, he was not totally cut off from the modern world. He lived only a half hour's walk from his parents' home, and he could see and hear the railroad line from his cabin. After two years, two months, two days, Thoreau left his cabin and returned to life in the village. Thoreau published Walden about his experiences there in 1854. Since that time, the pond and the land surrounding it have become famous.
Topic Today
In 1922, the Emerson family still owned the land surrounding Walden Pond. The family donated the land to the state of Massachusetts with the stipulation that the land be preserved. The state then created the Walden Pond State Reservation, which was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962. The reservation, which is overseen by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, is made up of 335 acres. Despite the pond being protected by the reservation, other land around the pond was not owned by the state. In the 1980s, some developers wanted to build on land close to the pond. However, a group called the Walden Woods Project organized to prevent development in the woods around Walden Pond. The group purchased many acres of land in the area to help preserve it and stop development from encroaching on the pond or the surrounding woods.
Thousands of people travel to the site each year, and they are able to enjoy the area because of these conservation efforts. People who visit the park can also visit a reconstruction of the cabin in which Thoreau lived, allowing people to understand what Thoreau's time at the pond might have been like. The reservation also has many other recreation opportunities. Walden Pond has beaches for swimming and a boat launch. The forest around the pond has miles of hiking and walking trails, picnic areas, and cross-country skiing areas.
Although the tourists, hikers, and naturalists who travel to the site often share Thoreau's goal of conservation, the site's many visitors have taken a toll on the area. Many visitors swim in the pond each year. Some of the visitors tend to urinate in the water, causing an increase in phosphorus in the pond. When water has too much phosphorus, dangerous algae blooms can grow. Another potential drawback of the pond having so many visitors is that its facilities are overused and sometimes in disrepair. Officials limit the number of people visiting the park at different times of the day to help minimize the stress put on the park's facilities.
Tourists famously flock to the park, but scientists are very interested in the area, too. Scientists study the area and try to learn more about the climate and the environment from their work. Some of the scientists use Thoreau's notes about wildlife to research changes that have happened in the area over the past few hundred years. According to scientists who have studied the wildlife today and compared it to Thoreau's notes, roughly 25 percent of the plants that Thoreau documented no longer grow in the area. Many of the other plants that grew during Thoreau's time at Walden Pond are becoming increasingly rare there. Many scientists doing such research have linked many of the wildlife changes to climate change. Scientists have also made note of other changes at Walden Pond due to climate change. Thoreau made notes about the thick ice covering the pond in the winter during his time there. However, the ice is much less thick, and sometimes nonexistent, during winters at the pond in the twenty-first century.
Bibliography
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"Thoreau at Walden Pond." Commonwealth of Massachusetts, www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dcr/massparks/region-north/thoreau-at-walden-pond-reservation.html. Accessed 2 Oct. 2017.
"Walden Pond in the Walden Pond State Reservation." National Park Service, www.nps.gov/nr/travel/massachusetts‗conservation/walden‗pond.html. Accessed 2 Oct. 2017.
"Walden Pond State Reservation." Commonwealth of Massachusetts, www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dcr/massparks/region-north/walden-pond-state-reservation.html. Accessed 2 Oct. 2017.
Warne, Kennedy. "See Why Thoreau's Walden Still Inspires." National Geographic, 11 July 2017, www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/proof/2017/07/walden-pond-henry-david-thoreau/. Accessed 2 Oct. 2017.