About 125,000 years ago, the ocean covered
Jupiter Island and much of Florida. Ocean currents deposited
drifting seashells and sand to form an underwater bar. Rock
formed when lower sea levels exposed the bar, cementing sand
and small colorful shells into a mixture called “coquina.”
The exposed coquina rock at Blowing Rocks Preserve is the
largest outcropping of the Anastasia Formation, which occurs
between St. Augustine and southern Palm Beach County,
Florida.
The rock
outcropping creates a unique marine and land environment. Some
marine animals attach to the rock, while others use it for shelter.
While sometimes serving as a protective barrier to the beach, the
rock can also increase beach erosion and intensify salt spray. Over
time, erosion created “Blow Holes” in the exposed rocks, which
shoot salt water 50 feet into the air when the surf is high, an
impressive sight for which the preserve was named. While at this
location, look closely at the rock formations and you will notice
differences in sand grain size from one layer to another, more
shells in some layers then others, color and texture differences
between layers and fossils of marine animals such as whelks,
oysters and sand dollars embedded in the
rock.
This
73-acre preserve is operated by The Nature Conservancy, and there
is a nominal fee charged to enjoy the Blowing Rocks Preserve, $3.00
per person over age 12. FREE PARKING is available near
N26 58.721, W080 05.044.
Bring some lunch and a blanket and stay a
while! Blowing Rocks Preserve is open to the public from 9
a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily, except major
holidays.
Another
option is to park at Coral Cove Park, N26
57.812 W080 04.757, and walk about one mile up
the beach to Blowing Rocks Preserve. This mile of beach is A PRIME
SEA SHELL COLLECTING AREA.
After enjoying this location, take
a picture of yourself and your GPS at the cache coordinates to
validate that you were here, and post it with your find. Also,
answer the following questions regarding this limestone: Is this
rock of organic or inorganic origin?(Organic = was the rock or
parent material formed by living organisms?) What are some of the
colors of the various layers? Send answers to
tedcool@gmail.com
Enjoy other EarthCaches in your
area. Check them out at EarthCache.org. For more information
about Blowing Rocks Preserve, visit
their web site.
Remember to visit Gator Man's
Ocean Paradise Cache location
GCP87X while you are here, it is about 0.14 miles
away.
The Anastasia
Formation outcropping at Blowing Rocks Preserve
