Coquina Beach at Washington Oaks Gardens State Park
by Carla Parris
Title
Coquina Beach at Washington Oaks Gardens State Park
Artist
Carla Parris
Medium
Photograph - Digital Photograph
Description
Right across the street from Washington Oaks Gardens State Park's gardens and majestic live oak trees is a stretch of beach that is unusual because of the prevalence of coquina rocks along the shore. They are on the beach and along the water's edge, as pictured here.
This coastal area is near the Florida town of St. Augustine, and is located on the Atlantic coast.
Coquina is a naturally-occurring soft rock composed of crushed and compacted ancient marine reefs and limestone. It can be seen in historic structures in Florida's oldest town of St. Augustine. One outstanding example is the city's fort - the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument - which is the oldest and largest masonry fort in the continental United States.. Another more modest structure is the town's old city gates. This material has been around a long time!
Interestingly, the building material tabby used in other old Southern towns is a man-made cousin of coquina. This so-called "coastal concrete" is comprised of lime from oyster shells, sand, water,and ash. Tabby is the building material of Savannah, Georgia's Fort Pulaski, and of numerous other structures in the Deep South.
Coquina is only found in a limited number of places in the world - namely, in a few locations on the southern coast of the United States, and many, many miles away in New Zealand. Washington Oaks Garden State Park's beach has the largest Atlantic Ocean outcropping. This area's coquina is said to be comprised of millions of tiny clams. These small sea creatures still live along southern beaches.
The presence of coquina rocks at Washington Oaks beach is unusual and interesting. However, the rocks do create a hazard for swimmers. Fortunately, this phenomenon seems fairly localized, and other nearby beaches are great for those who enjoy the water.
Uploaded
July 20th, 2021
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