GET A LITTLE SAND
IN YOUR SOUL
Okaloosa County Parks Geocache Trail
Quadrant Zone 4
Sugar white sand beach as the end of a boardwalk
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This cache is located on the beautiful Emerald Coast on Okaloosa County's Beach Access #5. There isn't a log book or physical geocache container with this one, only an aluminum disk with a code on it for the Okaloosa County Geocache Trail. The aluminum disk is located at GZ.
The Emerald Coast is home to sugar white beaches and beautiful emerald green water. It stretches only about 100 miles across the panhandle of Florida.
There are people that believe that the color of the water is due to blue-green algae but this is not the case. The emerald color of the water across the Emerald Coast is due to several factors. The water has a very high purity which allows for a deep light penetration as well as high visibility. Also helping the color is the relative shallowness of the water along the coast and the sugar white sand floor allowing the light to reflect back up through the water. This causes more of an emerald green color instead of the typical crystal blue color.
The sand along the beach, you will notice, is as white as sugar. This is one trait that has made these beaches so popular. The sand is white due to the high purity of the sand, which is related to its geological history. The Appalacian Mountains erosion over time deposited the sand into the rivers, which in turn deposited it into the Gulf of Mexico. The major component in the sand is quartz, which is the most resistant mineral brought down from the Appalacians. All other minerals were eventually ground down to dust by the constant wave action. After the other minerals were turned to dust they were carried off and deposited offshore. Not only are the beaches made up almost entirely of quartz crystal, the individual grains are all nearly the same size.
Take a moment and walk across the sand. Pay close attention to the sound that it makes as you walk across it. This is caused by the sand particles rubbing together. It is only acheived by all of the grains being similar in size. The grains of sand start to connect and bond together frictionally and when the added pressure from our feet break these bonds it causes them to make a 'squeek' noise.
To log this cache you must answer the following questions:
1. Why is the sand on the local beaches sugar white?
2. Why is the water on the Emerald Coast emerald green in color?
3. Grab a handful of the sand and observe the color. What 'color' are the individual grains of sand, in general?
4. Walk across the sand and listen closely. What sounds does the sand make when you walk across it, and why?
5. How did the Emerald Coast get its name?
All answers must be e-mailed to this geocaching account to complete your log of this geocache. Photos from cache site are welcome and encouraged but not required.
Looking down the sandy white beach
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Please visit our
parks department page and see where all of our parks are located and see the amenities available also. We are located in the panhandle of Florida with a diverse array of habitat areas, from crystal white sand beaches to densely vegetated forest.
We have partnered up with the Florida Department of Forestry, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Panhandle Geocachers to begin our geocache trail. It will encompass several of our county and state parks located in Okaloosa County. Please e-mail us through this website or
geocaching@co.okaloosa.fl.us with any questions or comments or to request more information.
