Georgia's Veneer

Flagler Beach,Florida
29 29.49 N 081 08.48 W

I've written several times about the veneer effect. That is how we boaters get to see so much of nature's beauty and so little of man's ugliness hidden behind a thin layer of trees.

The veneer layer in the salt marshes is considerably thicker. We see salt marshes starring north of Charleston, SC and continuing down to Saint Augustine Florida. (From Vero Beach south, we see mangrove swamps, not salt marshes.)

The ICW in Georgia takes us through some of the biggest and most beautiful salt marshes. True, we dislike that part of the ICW because of the meandering, the big tides, and the scary shoal waters. Nevertheless, there is no denying the charm and the beauty of the sights. It's pretty much true that nobody other than boaters ever gets to see this beauty.

Below is an image from Google Earth showing a stretch of the ICW. Click on it to see the large version. By noting where there are and are not roads and plowed fields, you can readily see on this picture how thick the veneer is in that region. You can also see why we need to meander so much in this region.

Click for full size