The Emerald Coast is the stretch of Florida's Panhandle that runs from Pensacola in Escambia County to Panama City Beach in Bay County. This ~100 mile stretch of the Gulf of Mexico shoreline includes some of the most desired beach going destinations in the state of Florida, including Fort Walton Beach, Destin, and Carillon Beach on the western end of Panama City Beach.
Now we know the where, but we still haven't covered the why. Why is the water in this region so strikingly green, and why is the sand so brilliantly white? The answer lies in the rich population of microscopic plants, called phytoplankton, that is key to the water's particular color gradation. Oh boy. Let's go back to high school biology class for a minute now. Phytoplankton are defined by Wikipedia as: the autotrophic or self-feeding components of the plankton community and are a key part of ocean and freshwater ecosystems. The name comes from the Greek words phyton, meaning plant and planktos, meaning wanderer or drifter. Phytoplankton get their energy through the process of photosynthesis, just as trees and other land based plants do. This means that phytoplankton must have light from the sun, so they live in the well-lit surface layers of oceans and lakes. Phytoplankton are the base of the marine food web, and do not rely on other organisms for their food but gather their energy through the process of photosynthesis.
The presence of phytoplankton in the world's oceans are responsible for the color of the oceans. According to NASA oceanographer Gene Carl Feldman, "the water of the ocean is not blue (or green), it's clear. The color of the ocean surface for the most part is based on depth, what's in it and what's below it." (source: Why Is the Ocean Different Colors in Different Places? by Amanda Onion, Nov. 30, 2023 as published in science.howstuffworks.com)
Phytoplankton use chlorophyll, a green colored pigment, to capture the sun's energy to convert water and carbon dioxide into organic compounds through the process of photosynthesis. In doing so, phytoplankton generate about 50% of the oxygen we breathe. Phytoplanktons serve as the base of the oceans food web and are the primary source of food for zooplankton, which are tiny animals eaten by fish. These fish are then eaten by larger animals on up the food chain. In a nutshell: phytoplankton provide over 50% of the oxygen we rely on, they are the base of the oceans food chain, AND by virtue of the fact that they use green colored pigment in the process of photosynthesis, they give the waters of Florida's Gulf Coast it's beautiful Emerald Green hue, that is responsible for it's namesake of the Emerald Coast.
The color of the water would not appear nearly as brilliant if it were not for the strikingly white sands that are common on Florida's Gulf Coast. Known as the sugar white sands of the Gulf, this sand finds it's origins in the Appalachian Mountains from the last ice age, ~12,000 years ago! Deposited along Florida's Gulf Coast via the Apalachicola River, this white sand is actually quartz rock mixed with finely ground seashells.
We are blessed with a beautiful trifecta of location, phytoplankton, and the product of erosion from eons ago, carried and deposited to the Gulf Coast by the Apalachicola River that come together beautifully in the place of Florida's Emerald Coast. This affords this short stretch of land along the Gulf of Mexico the precious moniker of Florida's Emerald Coast, as precious as the jewel in both color and scarcity.
Eddie and I invite you to come spend some time with us at FLIP FLOP HOLIDAY Beach House. Located in Carillon Beach, we enjoy a small piece of heaven along Florida's beautiful Emerald Coast. Come to create memories that will last a lifetime. Come to create family traditions that are shared from one generation to the next. Come to enjoy the beauty of God's creation as found no where else in America as is found in Florida on it's Emerald Coast. Come to relax, and find rest.
~Lynn and Eddie