Part 1
It’s not every day you make it to the beach. You have jobs, parties, long commutes, and
busy nights. Some of you reading this
probably live in the Great White North where going to the beach or seeing water
not covered in a sheet of ice only happens three or four months out of the
year. There are a million reasons you
don’t get to go to the beach. Even us
locals don’t make it to the beach every day.
Personally, I can take a 10-minute bike ride and be at any one of a
dozen beach accesses on Sanibel. Yet, I
find myself too busy to even scrape out 20 minutes of my day to go to the beach
and back.
But that’s why you come here to Sanibel (or Captiva or Fort
Myers Beach, etc.), to set aside that special time to go to the beach. And what is the #1 thing to do on the beaches
here in Southwest Florida? Go shelling. We all need to practice our Sanibel Stoop
every once in a while and see what little treasures we can find. After all, what could be more relaxing than
combing miles of beach for that perfect shell?
Now, as a scientist, I feel I owe you an explanation of WHY
the shelling is so good here. Go ahead
and put on your lab coat, thinking cap, and smartest-looking pair of
glasses. Things are about to get sciencey.
Sanibel and Captiva are barrier islands. Essentially, they were once little sandbars
running along the coast of mainland Florida and over time grew larger and
larger into islands that flourished.
There are many barrier islands along the coast of Florida but Sanibel is
highly unique for its exceptional shelling.
Yes, Sanibel is THE shelling capital of the world and for one simple
reason: our little island here spans from east to west. Most barrier islands run north-south
paralleling the mainland. Not Sanibel
though. Nope, we have a unique little
island here.
 |
| Photo: Google Maps |
But Sarah, what does that have to do with shelling? A shell doesn’t choose which beach becomes its final resting place. You’re right! But the currents do have a say in which beaches these shells land on. The flow of water around the tip of Florida and north along the Atlantic side of the state converges into a giant river-like monster called the Gulf Stream. However, some of that flow peels off before it rounds the end of the state and curls up the west coast. Because Sanibel runs east-west, all of the goodies getting pushed north by this current land behind your condo! Thus, many of the beautiful shells that can be found in the Gulf of Mexico can also be found right here on Sanibel. For those of you who are visual learners like I am, the picture below does a pretty good job of showing you how the oceans flow around Florida.
 |
| Photo: Florida currents |
So thank you Sanibel, for being the oddball island that just
had to plant itself on this earth sideways.
We all owe you one.
Happy shelling! - Sarah
