Boneyard Beaches of the Atlantic Coast

Jekyll Island is a spot frequented by tourists on the barrier islands off the coast of Georgia and home to a picturesque boneyard beach. Barrier islands are long, thin, and generally parallel to the mainland, which they protect from the full force of the ocean’s might. They are dynamic ecosystems, and the islands themselves are often on the move from the influence of changing sea levels, storms, waves, tides, and longshore currents.

Jekyll Island, like many barrier islands along the Atlantic coast, has a maritime forest. The forests of mostly oak and pine originally grew on high ground, protected from the ocean by sand dunes on the beach. Shoreline retreat is also a common phenomenon on barrier islands. Longshore currents move sand from the north to the south and can erode the dune fields that protect the forests.

Without protection from the dunes, the salt water exposure kills the trees, and they uproot and fall over. The tree “corpses” are preserved due to the salty air, which starves insects and prevents fungal rot. These beaches can be up to three miles long and are an eerily beautiful reminder that landscapes are always changing.

This post was written by Livia Hyams, a Mobile Ranger intern at the time of writing, and Julia Gaudinski.