Sandy Hook Sands- Brookdale College Ocean Institute - Sandy Hook, NJ 07732

The Sand of Sandy Hook, NJ
Profiles of the Beach
How old is Sandy Hook?

"Every grain of sand on a New England beach has a long and eventful history. Before it was sand, it was rock -- splintered by the chisels of the frost, crushed under advancing glaciers...then ground and polished in the mill of the surf. On Long Island, where much glacial material has accumulated, the sands contain quantities of pink and red garnet and black tourmaline, along with many grains of magnetite. In New Jersey, where the coastal plain deposits of the south first appear, there is less magnetic material and less garnet. Smoky quartz predominates at Barnegat, glauconite at Monmouth Beach and heavy minerals at Cape May." -- Rachel Carson The Edge of the Sea

A primary source of Sandy Hook's sand is the bluffs of Long Branch, Rumson and Highlands to the south. Since these are now sealed off from the ocean waves by seawalls and bulkheads, Sandy Hook's beaches are starved for sediments and have to be renourished by sand pumping.

"Storm Beach" from Sandy Hook, N.J.
Beach Minerals	Description	Color
Quartz	Silicon dioxide. Obvious crystals	Clear to white if pure, but varies in color with impurities like iron.
Feldspar	Aluminosilicates of potassium, sodium, calcium. Irregular shapes.	Whitish to pink. Has a "creamy" look to it, and flat sides.
Magnetite	Oxide of iron. Rounded shapes.	Black. Naturally magnetic.
Garnet	Hard vitreous minerals. Silicates of calcium, magnesium, or iron.	Varies in color. Dark red is common
Titanium	Titanium oxide.	Dark gray to black.
Dave Grant, Ocean Institute, Box 533, Sandy Hook, NJ 07732

All of the images below were taken at the same magnification. Particles sizes for coastal sediments range from boulders (256+ mm) to clay (0.004 mm). The Ocean Institute thanks Bud Cooper for his generous support and help in developing the best sand collection in New Jersey.
	Large pebbles (approx. 10 mm) taken from the "step" at the water's edge where waves surge against the beach. Notice that they are rounded and polished and that biogenic material (scallop shell) can be found in the sample.
Coarse sand particles (2 mm) are light enough to be carried by the waves up onto the berm.
	Medium sand particles (0.5 mm) are light enough to be moved by the wind after they have dried during the low tide cycle.
The finest sands (0.18 mm) are blown inland and trapped by dune grasses. (Overhead lighting)
	The photo above was illuminated from above, the photo to the left was illuminated from below. Note the clear and smoky quartz, milky feldspar, and red garnets. (Bottom lighting)
The finest sands (0.063 mm), sometimes called quartz dust, can blow a considerable distance inland from the dunes.
	The finest material is tiny pieces of mineral sand like magnetite, titanium and garnets. Pour this material over a magnet inside and you can easily separate the iron particles.
"Cape May Diamonds" Clear quartz pebbles are common on Sandy Hook and Cape May beaches.	If you moisten them or coat them with clear nail polish or varnish, it will mask the frosty abrasions from sand and they will look gem-like.
The Walrus and the Carpenter Were walking close at hand; They wept like anything to see Such quantities of sand: 'If this were only cleared away,' They said, 'It would be grand.' (Lewis Carroll)	"To see a World in a Grain of Sand, And a Heaven in a Wild Flower, Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand, And Eternity in an hour." (William Blake)

How old is Sandy Hook?