Have you seen a Glass Beach?

Have you heard of a Glass Beach in California? The name is not a reference to the water there. It’s about the beach. This glass beach gets its name from the glass pebbles on the coast. Sounds intriguing, doesn’t it?

Let me break it down for you. Several decades ago, a part of the coast near Fort Bragg, California was a dumping ground that saw all kinds of items disposed by the side of the Pacific Ocean. Among all the junk were a large number of glass bottles — beer bottles and soda bottles, I’m guessing. And when the ocean went about its duty of cleaning the beaches, it seems to have taken a lot of these things into its deep waters. And then, listen to this — the waters of the Pacific, after a long time, of course, redeposited the glass, only this time — in the form of pebbles.

Want me to break it down further? All those beer and pop bottles were carried away from the Mendocino Coast with the ebb were broken down and polished by the Pacific and brought back to the beach with the flow. Think of the Ocean as a humungous rock-tumbler doing what it does best! Just like how it takes rocks and turns them into fine sand, here the water clearly tried taking the waste-glass, polishing them, and returning them to the land. How amazing is that?

A 2012 attempt to see Glass Beach

I’d first been here in 2012 when we were exploring the northwestern part of CA. We’d gone to see the  Chandelier Tree better known as the Drive-thru’ tree in Legget, CA. Then we’d found a totem pole that they say is the tallest free-standing one and a house in a tree trunk, and after that, we’d hung out for a bit in the Fort Bragg area.

It was by chance that I read about Glass Beach while we were in Fort Bragg and we decided to go see it for ourselves. Our navigation system led us to the coast that was part of the area that had gotten some of those sea glass deposits. However, I had to comb the sand to see proof of the phenomenon. And in the end, I did see some but a very few of them.

The thing is that the area is not a dumping ground anymore. The coastal area was cleaned up a long time ago. And like it should be, it is forbidden to throw things around here, now. And I guess, a lot of the polished glass pieces got carried away by curious people as well as places that wanted to preserve a bit of this local history.

7 years later and more Sea Glass

Fast forward to the summer of 2019, when my bestie and family were visiting, we made a trip to this part of Mendocino County once again. And this time the maps led us to another part of the coast. It was a small beach, more like a little cove and I was thrilled to find more glass on the beach than I did the previous time. Better still, it was evening when we were there so as the sun made its way down, it seemed it hit the sea glass in neat angles that made them gleam in the evening sun.

While my company was busy playing in the cold waters of this beach in Northern California, I was busy trying to take as many pictures as I could, to take back with me. And here they are: 

Also from the area — a natural coastal pool out on the rocks

The post after the 2012 trip –> A place to go Sea Glass hunting.
See also — More Pacific Coast Trip Ideas

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Our World Tuesday
My Corner of the World

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