City: Cape Cod, MA

Category: Tours & Attractions

Description: Travel up to Aquinnah and you’ll think you’ve landed on an entirely different island. Aquinnah Cliffs, at the westernmost reaches of Martha’s Vineyard, are the island’s most popular and most photographed tourist attraction. Its clay cliffs cause you to catch your breath in awe of that which only nature herself could possibly create.These 150-foot-high clay cliffs were originally named Dover Cliffs by explorer Bartholomew Gosnold, who first discovered the island in 1602. The Wampanoag Indians of the area have their own name for this place—Aquinnah. Gay Head, the cliffs’ other name, came from British soldiers who sailed past this the area in the 17th century. Today the cliffs are owned by the Wampanoag Indians of the area. Formed during the ice age, the cliffs are a geological treasure chest as well as a paleontologic gold mine with the numerous fossils unearthed here. The cliffs also had some practical uses. For instance, early islanders used the cliffs’ clay to make paint and bricks. The high cliffs were also a prime vantage point—a high ground, you might say—and a perfect place to put a lighthouse. The cliffs, now a national landmark, are protected in an attempt to reduce erosion. Only the Aquinnah Wampanoag Indians are allowed to remove clay from them.