Puerto Rico
The West Coast Of Puerto Rico - A Sea Glass Lovers Paradise
In recent years Puerto Rico has become a well known sea glass collecting location. Although the amount of sea glass that washes up on the beaches of Puerto Rico is decreasing it is still considered to have an abundance of sea glass.
The three main reasons that Puerto Rico has a lot of sea glass are:
- Population Density - Puerto Rico is one of the worlds most densely populated islands in the world and exceeds all fifty states in the US in terms of population density.
- Erosion - The island is mostly deforested and there is also a lot of land disturbance due to poor land management practices. Heavy rains wash loose dirt and debris ( including discarded glass ) into rivers and streams that empty out in the sea.
- Powerful Surf - Puerto Rico's waves not only attract surfers from all over the world they also help to create some of the worlds most beautiful sea glass.
Much of Puerto Rico's sea glass comes from glass that was discarded on land and was carried by rivers and streams to the sea. The island is very mountaneous and has been heavily deforested so there are very few tree roots to hold topsoil in place. There is also a lot of land disturbance by earth moving machinery. During the summer rainy season heavy rains wash loose dirt, rocks and debris such as glass down steep hillsides into quebradas ( rivers & streams ) which flow to the sea.
Very often after heavy rains the clear blue waters off of Puerto Rico turn brown as large amounts of dirt and debris enter the sea by way of quebradas. For many this is ecologically traumatizing to witness as this means that Puerto Rico is not only loosing precious topsoil but this is also destroying the islands coral reef systems. It is during these events, when the sea off of Puerto Rico looks like chocolate milk, that more glass is being introduced to the sea. So it comes as no surprise that the best collecting spots are on beaches that have rivermouths nearby.
It is possible to find broken pieces of glass on land that have some surface abrasion and smooth edges. This glass got this way from being moved around in the dirt by the forces of ersosion over a period of many decades. Broken glass can also be found in quebradas that has been worn smooth from being tumbled over river rocks and washed against the bottom of the quebradas.
So I think it is safe to say that much of the glass that journeys down the island's quebradas has already begun to change when it enters the sea. It has had a head start.
This image is near a surf break in Rincon, Puerto Rico called Rivermouth where a quebrada flows to the sea. On some days the water in this area is beautiful and clear. On other days it looks like chocolate milk due to heavy rains that have washed dirt and debris into the quebrada that empties out at Rivermouth.
