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furymom

Beach Lover
May 13, 2008
59
22
Just a quick introduction.. I have been reading your boards for a while and we are thinking about building in Paradise by the Sea. I have enjoyed learning a lot about Destin from this site. I do have one quick question though... When we visited recently, I noticed that there seems to be some black sand mixed in on the beach.. I don't remember seeing that in previous trips to Destin and wondered if it was seasonal.
Thanks for helping.
 

jodiFL

Beach Fanatic
Jul 28, 2007
2,476
733
SOWAL,FL
Hi and welcome to SOWAL. Not sure about the sand issue although it could be from the renourishment done to the beaches there recently. But sometimes when there are storms there is a small amount that is natural but it usually sinks and isnt seen for very long.
 

TooFarTampa

SoWal Insider
:welcome: furymom! Were you staying on the beach near Paradise By the Sea when you saw the black stuff? If so (and even if not) I think I can answer your question. That black stuff is peat from ancient cypress forests. :cool: The beach took a battering from Ivan in '04 and Dennis in '05, exposing a lot of peat. The layer of fine white sand is changeable -- it builds up over time -- and sometimes more of the peat shows through than other times. Hope this helps. :D
 

DD

SoWal Expert
Aug 29, 2005
23,885
457
70
grapevine, tx. /On the road to SoWal
:welcome: furymom! Were you staying on the beach near Paradise By the Sea when you saw the black stuff? If so (and even if not) I think I can answer your question. That black stuff is peat from ancient cypress forests. :cool: The beach took a battering from Ivan in '04 and Dennis in '05, exposing a lot of peat. The layer of fine white sand is changeable -- it builds up over time -- and sometimes more of the peat shows through than other times. Hope this helps. :D

You so smart, TFT. :clap:
 

DD

SoWal Expert
Aug 29, 2005
23,885
457
70
grapevine, tx. /On the road to SoWal
Not really ... just an avid SoWaller who is really familiar with that beach! :D

Hail, even if I had read that on SoWal, which I probably did at some point, I would have never remembered it. :wave:
 

Cork On the Ocean

directionally challenged
You so smart, TFT. :clap:

Ann don't forget beautiful :love:. Hi guys, miss you!

:welcome: furymom. TFT is correct but the beaches have filled in beautifully from the storms. Sand has come back but if it was within about 6 months or so of Dennis that you were here, there were people using darker sand to renourish. So much of the dunes was lost after Dennis that we ran out of sand when people started filling it back. For a period, the county lowered the color grade of the sand (not by a whole lot) but there was a big thing on the board about it with terrible photos of some owners using very dark sand that didn't meet the color requirement. Anyway, that's gone, beaches are snowy white and beautiful again.

We'll be neighbors if you build. just across the way.
 
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