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National Geographic : 1908 Dec
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OUR NEGLECTED SOUTHERN COAST Photo from U. S. Forest Service SAND DUNE OVERWHELMING A FOREST banks of Florida streams, the palmetto alone is dominant, and between the col umns of its clumsy trunks one sees the dark green of the magnolia. As we have seen, our southern seacoast consists of a long line of shifting sand dunes, but none of these are so large or so attractive as are those near Province town, Cape Cod. All phases in the formation and disap pearance of sand-dunes may be observed along our southern beaches. Here the wind-blown sand may be seen engulfing the forest, and in another place the gaunt, gray trunks of the dead trees are again exposed to view, when the dune which overwhelmed them has itself begun to yield to the incessant breeze. The shore line fluctuates, and often the ocean may encroach upon and destroy the forest, or great flats of newly laid-down sand may stretch seaward from the old beach line. Ocean currents produce profound effects in shifting the loose sands, and Capes Hatteras and Canaveral are great cuspate forelands thrown up by conflicting shore currents. The sand of the beaches consists mainly of broken granules of silex, the insoluble remnant of ancient granite rocks which have long since yielded to the incessant churning of the surf and to the even more potent disintegrating ef fects of rain, frost, and sea water. All who visit Anastasia Island, oppo site Saint Augustine, Florida, become fa miliar with the peculiar shell rock called "coquina," which furnished the stone for the construction of the fine old Spanish stronghold now called Fort Marion. This coquina is formed from broken frag ments of sea shells which have been 865
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