|
Father and son enjoying the
fine sand, water, and sun at Treasure Cay.
Treasure Cay's
beach is one of the most
beautiful
beaches in the world. Thumbnail at right is
from the BVOA observation deck. Click on photo to enlarge.
It has always marveled me that Abaco's beach sand is always cool
to walk on. It is said that the sand is too cool for turtles to lay their eggs.
Thanks to Lisa Wald of the USGS Pasadena Field Office, I now have an explanation for this
phenomenon. Her answer is as follows:
The Abaco sand is white because of the carbonate rocks that it derives
from. The thing that keeps it cool is its color. The white color reflects much of
the light and heat instead of absorbing it (like a black pavement does), and consequently
stays cool even in the hot sun.
There is also a special carbonate called dolomite (a
calcium magnesium carbonate) that keeps the sand cool. This is found along the margins of
tidal flats on the western portion of Andros, Abacos, Caicos Banks, and West Long Island.
Click on thumbnails below
for the big picture!
  
  
  
 
E-mail
john@harpswell.com
Webmaster John W. Snowe,
Harpswell, Maine
john@harpswell.com
|
