Adventures from Behind the Glass

Power of the Sea, Blowing Rocks Preserve, Jupiter Island, FL 2011

South Florida is not known for it’s large waves or rocky beaches. As a matter of fact, you can drive the entire coast and find that rocks are the exception, not the rule. One beautiful deviation from the norm is Jupiter Island located some 25 miles north of West Palm Beach. On the southernmost tip of the island is the Blowing Rocks Preserve, which is protected by The Nature Conservancy http://bit.ly/le3vfe. This barrier island sanctuary boasts the largest outcropping of sedimentary rock called Anastasia limestone (coquina) on the U.S. Atlantic Coast. Most likely formed around 120,000 years ago, in the Pleistocene Age, and composed primarily of shell and coral fragments, fossils and sand, these rarely exposed formations send plumes of saltwater up to 50 feet skyward as they are battered by waves.

Although great to visit any time of year, storms (even those well off shore), create the greatest show. On this particular day, swells of 12-15 feet were recorded from a storm that was far out at sea. The resulting impact at Blowing Rocks clearly exhibited the incredible…power of the sea.