Driftwood Beach - Jekyll Island, Georgia

Either my third or fourth quarter at Auburn, I had a class called Engineering Geology. This was part of my required curriculum for engineering but is probably long gone due to restructuring of my program. Regardless, it was a fun class that enabled me to learn a whole lot about rocks and minerals and erosion and earthquakes and soils and ground water and...you get the idea.

This class was taught by a really cool guy by the name of David T. King, Jr. I really liked Dr. King. He was the type of professor that made you laugh without trying and like all good instructors, loved what he did. There are tons of stories my classmates and I could share about this guy ranging from the hand written and illustrated text we were required to buy to the inflatable dinosaurs in his office but they'd have nothing to do with this blog post.

The one subject that Dr. King shared with us that is related to the post is about Longshore Drift. I'm fully convinced that the reason this topic has stuck with me is that Dr. King abbreviated it as LSD. I've never tried any recreational drugs but if you've spent much time in the geology department of your school, you've likely seen some people that you'd make some assumptions about. And such was the case with Dr. King and my classmates.

Longshore drift is essentially the shifting of sand down a beach because waves hit at an angle. Sometimes this can be minor and other times this can be something that happens quickly, especially when there are weather events causing high, hard hitting waves (I'll refrain from getting into the science of wave formation).

Jekyll Island, one of the Golden Isles off the coast of Georgia, is home to one of the coolest beaches that shows the effects of beach erosion very well...including some things that aren't very common to most beaches. The waves that have hit the beach over the years have sent sand down to the far tip of the island but unlike most most beaches there was a line of trees separating the ocean from the inland marsh. As the waves took their toll on the beach, the trees were left behind as a monument to their resilience. Most of the trees have been eaten away by the salt water and some have managed to stay standing despite the daily tides shifting the soil at their roots.

The trees that once stretched out over the beach to provide shade now lie at rest on the beach filling a new role as home to sea creatures and a perch for the birds. Driftwood beach is a wonderful example of nature leaving behind a reminder of the past for us to see how all things work together to continue to create something beautiful. If you happen to be near the Golden Isles, be sure to visit the 10 mile stretch of Driftwood Beach and take it in for yourself. In my opinion, there isn't a better time to visit than sunrise.



A few things you should know:
The island is largely a state park and gatekeeper requires a pass for entry. These can be purchased at the greeting station and range from $5 for a daily to $45 for a year long pass.
There are no gas stations on the island so make sure you fill up before you head out to the island.
Update: The gas station that was under construction last time we visited is now open per the comments below.

-Todd
Blame the bad picture posting on me not knowing what I'm doing... Sorry Nic.