National Beach Day highlights the environmental importance of beaches in supporting a variety of life forms and providing coastal protection. National Beach Day also encourages people to enjoy the recreational and health benefits of spending time on the beach. Florida has one of the longest coastlines in the United States with nearly 900 miles of accessible sandy beaches and over 1,800 miles of coastline, providing plenty of opportunity to enjoy beaches.
Florida’s beaches provide habitat for vital animal and plant native species. Resident and migratory shorebirds use beaches for resting, foraging, and nesting. Endangered and threatened sea turtles nest on Florida’s shores during the summer. Over 30 rare species inhabit the beach and adjacent habitats. The beach and dune system function as a buffer against storm waves, absorbing energy and reducing damage to coastal structures.
Beaches are geologic formations located along large bodies of water. They consist of tiny pieces of organic sediment such as sand, rock, shell, algae, or pebbles. Beach formation involves erosion of rocks, coral reefs, and other materials near the shore. Waves wear down these materials, creating small particles that are carried by water and deposited along the coastline. Over time, this accumulation forms a beach.
The sand’s composition, color and grain size are a result of the geology of the surrounding area. Rocks and minerals contribute to the color, creating beaches with distinct colors. The white sand on Florida’s beaches primarily comes from quartz crystals brought by rivers draining the weathered Appalachian Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico.
Flagler County is famous for its orange or “cinnamon” beaches made of coquina shell fragments that have absorbed the rusty color of iron oxide. The coquina rocks are part of the Anastasia formation created 12,000 - 2.5 million years ago. This rock formation stretches from St. Augustine to Palm Beach County. Slightly acid rain dissolved shells, gluing them to sand creating rock. A close look of coquina rocks reveals millions of individual shells and sand cemented together. Coquina comes from the Spanish word for cockle, a small burrowing clam.
Celebrate National Beach Day by visiting the beach at Gamble Rogers or North Peninsula State Parks. Examine the unique sand, look for ghost crabs and observe the salt tolerant plants growing on the dunes. Be sure to respect the environment by staying off the dunes and leaving nothing behind.
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