A Brief History of Fire Island
Today, Fire Island is one of the chicest places to have a beach house. It remains popular among artists, actors, and musicians. The car-free, pastoral, beach getaway is a truly unique summer destination. We’re proud to state that Fire Island has never succumbed to the commercialism and class distinction that haunts the Hampton’s.Fire Island’s roots date back to 1653, when Isaac Stratford constructed a whaling station on the Island, naming it Whalehouse Point. Similar to Nantucket, Fire Island was originally founded as an important whaling center during the 18th and 19th centuries.
The History of the Beaches of Fire Island
· In general, Fire Island beaches consist of four sections such as the Berm, Wrack line, Beach face and the swash zone. The berm is the area in which there is little to no contact with the water from the tides. Moving closer to the water, we run into the wrack line where all of the oceanic debris and trash is collected. It is also the peak of daily tides. The beach face is the sloping area that is exposed to the tides. The swash zone is the portion of the beach that is constantly submerged with tides on and off.
Sand dunes are very important to habitual aspects of the island. Sand dunes are formed by a gradual deposition of sand when it hits a group of plants. Overtime, sand starts to form in greater number and eventually becomes a small hill. These small hills of sand are called dunes. Plants also tend to grow on the dunes. However, not just any type of plant can grow on dunes. Specific types of plants that are resilient and durable such as sand grass or plumb can grow on top of dunes. There is an amazing balance of the environment in Fire Island which has a lot to do with these plants. As a matter of fact, without plants sand dunes cannot form, without sand dunes there can’t be a stable environment inland like a forest or jungle and without a stable inland environment an island would cease to exist. The picture above shows the importance of sand dunes for without them there will be no vegetation and consequently no life.
The Beaches of Fire Island and really unique because there is more to them than we actually know. The beaches of the island appear white but if they are observed closely you can see that there is a variety of minerals which make it up. For example, the majority of the beach has grains called quartz which is the white part but it also has sediments such as Magnetite, Feldspar, Mica, tourmaline and Garnet. There are also minerals on the beach that are said to be separated by their specific densities.
The beach is really a magnificent and majestic part of the island but the animals and creatures living on the beaches are just as majestic. Many species of birds and crabs and other creatures are on the beach. The piping plover is a bird known for its nesting. The national park service members help in the nesting by putting a fence across a wide area in which birds can breed and nest in peace without human disruptions. If any nests or eggs are laid in an area that is not within the fence, the service members make a custom and smaller fence for the eggs to hatch.
Also, along the beach there is a common crab that is found called the horseshoe crab which is named by the shape of its shell that looks like a horseshoe. All around Fire Island has hundreds of animals including 300 species of birds and 30 species of turtle’s not including an mammals
Sand dunes are very important to habitual aspects of the island. Sand dunes are formed by a gradual deposition of sand when it hits a group of plants. Overtime, sand starts to form in greater number and eventually becomes a small hill. These small hills of sand are called dunes. Plants also tend to grow on the dunes. However, not just any type of plant can grow on dunes. Specific types of plants that are resilient and durable such as sand grass or plumb can grow on top of dunes. There is an amazing balance of the environment in Fire Island which has a lot to do with these plants. As a matter of fact, without plants sand dunes cannot form, without sand dunes there can’t be a stable environment inland like a forest or jungle and without a stable inland environment an island would cease to exist. The picture above shows the importance of sand dunes for without them there will be no vegetation and consequently no life.
The Beaches of Fire Island and really unique because there is more to them than we actually know. The beaches of the island appear white but if they are observed closely you can see that there is a variety of minerals which make it up. For example, the majority of the beach has grains called quartz which is the white part but it also has sediments such as Magnetite, Feldspar, Mica, tourmaline and Garnet. There are also minerals on the beach that are said to be separated by their specific densities.
The beach is really a magnificent and majestic part of the island but the animals and creatures living on the beaches are just as majestic. Many species of birds and crabs and other creatures are on the beach. The piping plover is a bird known for its nesting. The national park service members help in the nesting by putting a fence across a wide area in which birds can breed and nest in peace without human disruptions. If any nests or eggs are laid in an area that is not within the fence, the service members make a custom and smaller fence for the eggs to hatch.
Also, along the beach there is a common crab that is found called the horseshoe crab which is named by the shape of its shell that looks like a horseshoe. All around Fire Island has hundreds of animals including 300 species of birds and 30 species of turtle’s not including an mammals
Fire Island Beaches
The Fire Island Beaches are one of the most unique beaches one earth because of the diversity of minerals, sediments, plant life and animal life. Fire Island Has over one hundred species of animals such as the piping plover, the horse shoe crab, dears and much more.