The Emerald Coast

A clear flat morning on the emerald coast in Destin FL.

How it gets its color???

The panhandle is one of the most sought out vacation destinations in the country, mainly because of its sugary white beaches and emerald green waters. Destin is in the race for the best beaches in Florida and many believe it is number 1 on that list. Many factors play into why our waters are so gorgeous and one of the main reasons is because of the sand. White rock particles from the Appalachians Mountains were sheered off in the last ice age, they then traveled through the Gulf of Mexico by way of the Appalachian River and have been broken down from the long distances traveled and years of wave action to make up the finest snow-white sand that we enjoy every day. That’s right, our sand is literally broken-down white quartz crystals. The reflection of the sun off of our white sand only enhances the emerald green waters and makes it that much more vibrant.

Now we have one piece of the puzzle, the sand, but other places have white sand too so there must be something more, and there is. The other key factor is the location of Choctawhatchee Bay and the separation that the bays and harbors provide from muddy river runoff. Instead of river and creeks shedding water directly into the Gulf of Mexico, they shed into the bay which acts as a filtration for the sediment before reaching the Gulf. This separation also allows more inflow of our clear salt rich water from the Gulf of Mexico. The combination of the two makes for some of the most beautiful beaches in the world which fill the photo albums and profile pictures of the many tourist that visit our home annually.