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Top 10 Beaches 2012
Dr.
Beach's 50 Beach Criteria
All About Beaches About Dr. Beach |
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Dr. Beach Names America's Best Beach 2012:
Coronado Beach in San
Diego, California |
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NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC,
FIELD GUIDE
TO THE WATER'S EDGE.
As summer approaches, many vacationers
will be heading to favorite beach, lake
or river destinations - and this book is
a perfect companion to any water
adventure. This book is designed
for those who enjoy the many natural
wonders along North America’s ocean
beaches, lakeshores, riverbanks,
streams, ponds and marshes. The book is
written by two veteran scientists and
water edge experts, Stephen Leatherman,
better known as Dr. Beach, and Jack
Williams, longtime weather editor of USA
Today. |
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Beachcombing Basics
Almost every
beach visitor does a little beachcombing
along the ocean’s edge to see what the
tide has washed in. It is a relaxing
escape from everyday concerns. Other
people take their beachcombing
seriously, making a hobby or even a
business of collecting what they like
among the many objects they find.
Whether you are casual or serious,
beachcombing helps you connect with the
ocean and some of its creatures.
Start with the Wrack Line
Wrack refers to several species of
living seaweed, as well as dead
vegetation of all kinds, that are washed
up by waves and often are concentrated
along the high-tide line, which is
called the wrack line. This long row of
debris stretching along the beach almost
always offers fascinating
discoveries—for example, the seaweed
called sargassum, which contains little
brown balls. The balls keep the
sargassum afloat as it circles the
Sargasso Sea, a huge eddy in the middle
of the Atlantic. Pieces of sargassum,
including their little floats, break off
and drift to beaches along the Atlantic
and the Gulf of Mexico. In wrack lines
you can find many of the items that are
described in this chap- ter. In fact,
wrack lines sometimes contain more
living things than any other part of a
beach. Walk along the line slowly, look
carefully, and you may find many
creatures that you have never seen
before. Wrack offers protection,
nutrients, and moisture to an entire
food web that includes tiny shrimplike
creatures, mole crabs, ghost crabs, and
shorebirds such as terns that are
foraging for a meal. Seeds and nutrients
in wrack washed onto the back beach may
help plants become established to
stabilize new dunes.
Rules for Beachcombing
Before collecting any seashells, be
aware that there may be strict
government regulations to follow or
private property to respect. In many
locations you are not permitted to take
whatever strikes your fancy. In some
areas, it may be forbidden to collect
seashells containing live animals and
even to take empty shells. Always check
for possible regulations because illegal
collecting may result in substantial
fines. Two examples:
1. Pay attention to strict regulations
banning the collection of abalone, which
are large, edible sea snails, along the
California coast.
2. Florida prohibits collection of
beautiful queen conchs, which have
edible meat.
Even where collecting mollusks is legal,
you should not interfere with nature’s
food web by taking any living mollusk.
Taking items besides living creatures
may also be prohibited. For example, the
National Park Service forbids removing
sea glass or pottery from Spectacle
Island in Boston Harbor, a prime site
for finding sea glass.
It is especially important to learn the
rules before beachcombing at national
wildlife refuges, national sea- shores,
and state parks—but wildlife regulations
may also apply to private property.
There is another good reason not to
collect shells containing living
animals: When the creature dies and
begins to decay, its odor may quickly
become unbearable, perhaps like that of
rotting fish.
Sea Glass and Plastic
Many beachcombers collect pieces of
glass that waves, sand, and water have
tumbled and smoothed over many years,
creating unique shapes, colors, and
textures. Some collectors use them to
make sea glass jewelry or art objects.
The North American Sea Glass Association
links collectors with its newsletter and
collecting conventions. As plastic
containers increasingly replace glass
ones, sea glass is getting harder to
find. Most beachcombers view the large
amount of plastic waste on beaches as
unsightly garbage.
Did You Know?
Black patches of beach sand do not
usually come from oil spills? More often
these patches contain minerals darker
than the usual quartz sand.
Safety Tip
Do not pick up or prod unrecognized
man-made items such as metal canisters;
unexploded bombs or mines sometimes wash
ashore.
(read
more about this book) |
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