Near the city of Fort Bragg in California in the United States, this beach owes its name to its unusual particularity. Glass Beach is famous for the abundant presence of glass that comes directly from the ocean. This phenomenon regularly attracts many tourists, curious to observe this beach of a thousand and one colors.
A man-made phenomenon
One could believe in another exceptional natural phenomenon. Indeed, the planet has not finished surprising and marveling us. But this time, the Man is not there for nothing! It all started in 1949, when the inhabitants of the surrounding towns and in particular of Fort Bragg decided to dump their waste on the coasts of the ocean and on this beach. For almost 20 years, this place received all types of waste. Moreover, some were very polluting like plastic, household appliances and even cars. It was only in 1967 that the competent authorities closed this open landfill. From the 90s, depollution campaigns were finally started. But these years of environmental unawareness have left visible traces even today.
Today, thousands of pieces of sea glass are present on the beach. After being swallowed by the sea, polished and spat out, these are now making a remarkable comeback. The multitude of colors would be due to the different types of waste previously present in this landfill. Between the beauty of this site and the history of this beach, it is difficult to form a definite opinion on this phenomenon.
A site that attracts, but which may soon disappear
The development of tourism in this place allows locals to live off a new economy. Indeed, the Californian city Fort Bragg did not attract many tourists before this beach became known. Unfortunately, mass tourism could end up causing the particularity of this beach to disappear, namely the sea glasses. The collection of these is strictly prohibited by the local authorities. However, this does not prevent the vast majority of visitors from keeping it as a souvenir. So there are less and less sea glass in Glass Beach and at this rate, its name will no longer correspond to it. Even though some people encourage you to pick up those little pieces of multicolored glass before they disappear completely, we advise you to leave them on the beach. If you don’t want to be the last to observe this phenomenon and leave this opportunity to the next generations, just enjoy the show on site. After all, a souvenir photo is enough, right?
This phenomenon which should never have existed, but which today attracts thousands of curious people, is therefore certainly only ephemeral. If you are passing through California, you should still take a look at this wonder which will certainly no longer be there in a few years if the collection is not more controlled.
