Silver Strand State Beach
Narrow sandspit beach whose grains sparkle with mica carried by ocean current from distant mountains.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to Silver Strand State Beach in San Diego starts with a handful of sand that glitters enough to have given the seven-mile spit its name, and the mineral behind that shine, mica, thin flat flakes that lie like tiny mirrors among ordinary quartz and shell. It raises the real puzzle: this mica was never native to the beach it covers. You'll hear how geologists traced it toward mountain rock and a river far from here, and the current that has been moving it along the coast for decades. Scoop up a handful yourself and watch how it catches the light.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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