Our Neglected Southern Coast 



86 5 



Photo from U. S. Forest Service 

 SAND DUNE OVERWHELMING A FOREST 



banks of Florida streams, the palmetto 

 alone is dominant, and between the col- 

 umns of its clumsy trunks one sees the 

 dark green of the magnolia. 



As we have seen, our southern seacoast 

 consists of a long line of shifting sand- 

 dunes, but none of these are so large or 

 so attractive as are those near Province- 

 town, Cape Cod. 



All phases in the formation and disap- 

 pearance of sand-dunes may be observed 

 along our southern beaches. Here the 

 wind-blown sand may be seen engulfing 

 the forest, and in another place the gaunt, 

 gray trunks of the dead trees are again 

 exposed to view, when the dune which 

 overwhelmed them has itself begun to 

 yield to the incessant breeze. The shore 

 line fluctuates, and often the ocean may 

 encroach upon and destroy the forest, or 

 great flats of newly laid-down sand may 



stretch seaward from the old beach line. 

 Ocean currents produce profound effects 

 in shifting the loose sands, and Capes 

 Hatteras and Canaveral are great cuspate 

 forelands thrown up by conflicting shore 

 currents. 



The sand of the beaches consists 

 mainly of broken granules of silex, the 

 insoluble remnant of ancient granite 

 rocks which have long since yielded to 

 the incessant churning of the surf and to 

 the even more potent disintegrating ef- 

 fects of rain, frost, and sea water. 



All who visit Anastasia Island, oppo- 

 site Saint Augustine, Florida, become fa- 

 miliar with the peculiar shell rock called 

 "coquina," which furnished the stone for 

 the construction of the fine old Spanish 

 stronghold now called Fort Marion. 

 This coquina is formed from broken frag- 

 ments of sea shells which have been 



