The Anastasia Encounter | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Lifestyle

The Anastasia Encounter

Meet the Anastasia formations.

7
The Anastasia Encounter
Elizabeth Sarduy

Driving without a specific destination is one of the leading causes of adventure in America.

Miles along the city of Palm Coast, Fla., lies a hidden local treasure. Gripping the steering wheel in a desolate small town, speeding past miles upon miles of concrete roads and green foliage you could get lost in, you will pass miles of almost movielike scenes of small homes, some overlooking the sea.

In the same area lies Washington Garden State Park, a place that is hikeable, though it doesn't have a lot of views of a garden. A few miles from this area is a new beach that belongs to the park itself, hidden away from the public eye. It doesn't have the same reputation as some of the larger beaches like Daytona or St. Pete, but a larger treasure lies in this one. It's a nameless beach surrounded by rocky crevices, which to the local Floridian is a sight to be seen.

Florida is well-known for its tourist attractions. These sandy white beaches with their surging waves and powerful salt-like smell are special forces of nature a vast majority of local Floridians are grateful to experience.

What a lot of Floridians don't know is that a lot of these features are not built by nature. Most of the local beaches residents are accustomed to are artificially created. The white sands are brought and spread over the land in dainty specks, going grain by grain.

In fact, according to Dr. Charles W. Finkl in his article "East Florida's Barrier Islands," “The Florida southeastern coast beaches are sand starved, and must be periodically re-nourished so that the underlying limestone bedrock is not exposed by erosion to produce a rocky shore.”

Despite the strange but familiar sound of artificial beaches, they do provide room for bigger natural phenomenon to occur. One of these is the Anastasia formations, given its name after Anastasia Island in Florida. The island is filled with these coarse rocky spheres and is thousands of years old. The formations were deposited during the interglacial period on the geological time scale, the scale that is used to map out geological events that occur to or on Earth.

These landscapes, made in a time when sea levels were higher than today’s,deposited formations made of sand and coquina limestone. This limestone is made up of fossil debris, mostly hard shells. The rough surface of these formations is typically light brown or shades of oranges. Anastasia formations surround the seashores for miles, forming a type of flat bedrock surface, connected by small rocky crevices and dark swirls around the surrounding sand.

Most of the current ones are the result of wave erosion, which causes crevices and scooped-like shapes on them. These formations provide habitat for sea creatures who wander the area as well as to create hills and cliffs that overlook the sea and small caves along the Atlantic coast. They are home to mostly crabs as they are a safe space for these animals to be amongst humans.

This subtle phenomenon makes all the difference in Florida’s coast. These formations are grand pieces of art created by nature which only aid the aesthetically pleasing atmosphere of beaches from St. John's County to Palm Beach County and in places such as the Blowing Rocks Preserve on Jupiter Island.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Christmas tree
Librarian Lavender

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Christmas is one of my personal favorite holidays because of the Christmas traditions my family upholds generation after generation. After talking to a few of my friends at college, I realized that a lot of them don't really have "Christmas traditions" in their family, and I want to help change that. Here's a list of Christmas traditions that my family does, and anyone can incorporate into their family as well!

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 5 Phases Of Finals

May the odds be ever in your favor.

1604
Does anybody know how to study
Gurl.com

It’s here; that time of year when college students turn into preschoolers again. We cry for our mothers, eat everything in sight, and whine when we don’t get our way. It’s finals, the dreaded time of the semester when we all realize we should have been paying attention in class instead of literally doing anything else but that. Everyone has to take them, and yes, unfortunately, they are inevitable. But just because they are here and inevitable does not mean they’re peaches and cream and full of rainbows. Surviving them is a must, and the following five phases are a reality for all majors from business to art, nursing to history.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

How To Prepare For The Library: Finals Edition

10 ways to prepare for finals week—beginning with getting to the library.

2960
How To Prepare For The Library: Finals Edition
Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

It’s that time of year again when college students live at the library all week, cramming for tests that they should have started studying for last month. Preparing to spend all day at the library takes much consideration and planning. Use these tips to help get you through the week while spending an excessive amount of time in a building that no one wants to be in.

Keep Reading...Show less
girl roommates
StableDiffusion

Where do we begin when we start talking about our roommates? You practically spend every moment with them, they become your second family and they deal with you at your best and at your absolute worst. They are there to make you laugh just a little harder, cry a little less and make each day a little better. We often forget to thank them for the little things that they do to make college even a tiny bit easier and more fun. This list of 26 things are what you should thank your roommates for right this minute and every day that you live with them.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

20 Thoughts While Studying For Finals

I may or may not be stressing right now.

3012
Thoughts While Studying For Finals
StableDiffusion


That time of the semester has arrived once again, finals. The worst week ever. Who thought it was a good idea for all your classes to have exams all in the same week? Definitely not me. Here's 20 thoughts you may have studying for finals.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments