Where to Find Sea Glass
Beach combers, old and young, have been picking up wave-tumbled and rounded pieces of glass known as sea or beach glass for years, but lately collecting sea glass has become a popular pursuit for more people than ever.
But where can you find these "gems" of the sea? Do you wonder if a beach near you or near a planned vacation spot would be a good location to search for sea glass? Here are several facts about beaches and the likely ones for finding quality sea glass.
Since sea or beach glass comes from discarded glass objects, there must be a source, that is, a population near the beach where this old, rounded glass is found.
Although it is true that sea glass can possibly be found on remote beaches, a good sea glass beach is almost always found near a present or abandoned townsite close to an ocean or lake shore.
The most well-known beach of this type is at Fort Bragg in California, where the local trash dump was the beach, where the garbage, including vehicles and appliances, was pushed over the bluffs onto the shore.
As the garbage disintegrated and disappeared, what was left was the most durable part: Wave-washed and tumbled glass.
As this went on for about 50 years in several locations near the town, a lot of quality glass has been found there.
So, look for a beach near a town for the most likely good source of beach glass.
Now, the second factor in a good sea glass beach - Terrain.
Although most people would say that their idea of the perfect beach is a tropical white sand beach that is wide, sunny, and stretches for miles, a sea glass collector views it differently.
Why? One main reason is that a wide, sandy beach is exposed to a lot of shifting sands many feet thick, and what glass might be there gets covered and lost in the tons of sand.
There is another important reason that a wide, sandy beach is not the best place for sea glass .
In times past and even today in many places, the town dump was a landfill in a gully or small valley near the town.
With time, storm waters and erosion caused the trash to make its journey downhill to the beach.
On the other hand, there is little probability that refuse from trash dumps would find its way to the beach over flat or low-lying terrain.
And the third factor - Waves.
By definition, sea glass is broken glass, or shards, that have been tumbled among sand/rocks on a shoreline by natural wave action.
Without the tumbling action of the waves, a broken piece of glass remains just a shard and never becomes real sea glass.
Look for a beach (usually the ocean but also large lakes are possible) where the wind has a clear path to blow across the water (fetch) of AT LEAST 25 miles.
This is necessary to produce waves that are at least knee high and have the power to really roll and tumble the glass shards on the beach.
Logically, a longer reach of 50 miles or more results in more powerful waves, greater tumbling action, and a much faster rate of turning a shard into beautifully rounded and frosted glass.
So get the map out.
Check local sources.
Find the history behind the beaches.
Pick the right terrain.
Match the above factors with possible beaches.
You are on your way to finding that GREAT sea glass beach!
But where can you find these "gems" of the sea? Do you wonder if a beach near you or near a planned vacation spot would be a good location to search for sea glass? Here are several facts about beaches and the likely ones for finding quality sea glass.
- Population
- Terrain
- Wave action
Since sea or beach glass comes from discarded glass objects, there must be a source, that is, a population near the beach where this old, rounded glass is found.
Although it is true that sea glass can possibly be found on remote beaches, a good sea glass beach is almost always found near a present or abandoned townsite close to an ocean or lake shore.
The most well-known beach of this type is at Fort Bragg in California, where the local trash dump was the beach, where the garbage, including vehicles and appliances, was pushed over the bluffs onto the shore.
As the garbage disintegrated and disappeared, what was left was the most durable part: Wave-washed and tumbled glass.
As this went on for about 50 years in several locations near the town, a lot of quality glass has been found there.
So, look for a beach near a town for the most likely good source of beach glass.
Now, the second factor in a good sea glass beach - Terrain.
Although most people would say that their idea of the perfect beach is a tropical white sand beach that is wide, sunny, and stretches for miles, a sea glass collector views it differently.
Why? One main reason is that a wide, sandy beach is exposed to a lot of shifting sands many feet thick, and what glass might be there gets covered and lost in the tons of sand.
There is another important reason that a wide, sandy beach is not the best place for sea glass .
In times past and even today in many places, the town dump was a landfill in a gully or small valley near the town.
With time, storm waters and erosion caused the trash to make its journey downhill to the beach.
On the other hand, there is little probability that refuse from trash dumps would find its way to the beach over flat or low-lying terrain.
And the third factor - Waves.
By definition, sea glass is broken glass, or shards, that have been tumbled among sand/rocks on a shoreline by natural wave action.
Without the tumbling action of the waves, a broken piece of glass remains just a shard and never becomes real sea glass.
Look for a beach (usually the ocean but also large lakes are possible) where the wind has a clear path to blow across the water (fetch) of AT LEAST 25 miles.
This is necessary to produce waves that are at least knee high and have the power to really roll and tumble the glass shards on the beach.
Logically, a longer reach of 50 miles or more results in more powerful waves, greater tumbling action, and a much faster rate of turning a shard into beautifully rounded and frosted glass.
So get the map out.
Check local sources.
Find the history behind the beaches.
Pick the right terrain.
Match the above factors with possible beaches.
You are on your way to finding that GREAT sea glass beach!