Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Weird Wednesday ~ Glass Beach



A beach located outside of Fort Bragg, California was used as a dump site by local residents in the early 20th century.  Everything from household trash to cars were thrown over the cliffs onto the beach. Fires were lit to reduce the size of the trash piles.


It wasn't until the 1960s that local leaders closed the beach to dumping and began clean-up programs. The worst and largest of the discarded items were taken away but years and years of wave action had broken down the glass and pottery, leaving them with smooth, rounded edges.


Today the beach is part of a California State Park and people are not allowed to remove any of the glass.


6 comments:

Aine O'Brien said...

That is amazing!!! Nature turns trash into beauty!

Debra She Who Seeks said...

Very cool! Nice to see a garbage story that has a happy ending.

Danni said...

This makes my inner-environmentalist and my inner- beauty seeker be at odds in the worst way! On the one hand; ye gods! All the trash!

But on the other, it's SO beautiful. And I'd totally steal some glass while no one was looking. This is why I can't go to nice places! ;-)

the dogs' mother said...

When I was a kid we lived on the side of a mountain on the coast in northern BC. There was no flat ground. It took me all these years to wonder what happened to the garbage (population 900). I asked my Dad. He said it was loaded onto a barge and taken down to the mainland where it was added to a landfill.

Birdie said...

Wow! How beautiful. I must admit I love beach glass and would have a hard time not taking some. (But I wouldn't.)

Anonymous said...

That is so gorgeous !! It must be so beautiful with the sunlight on it.
Have a magical day.