Unusual Pocket Beach

Sand Beach is a geologic rarity, one of the few cold-water, shell-based sand beaches in the world. Sand beaches are uncommon in Maine because cold water traps gases that dissolve seashells and most of the coastline consists of hard granite that erodes slowly. Here, the offshore rock called Old Soaker diverts a strong current into a glacially formed pocket that captures shell fragments. The beach is also affected by a typical 12-foot variance between low and high tides. Its surface sands rest on a huge bed of granite cobbles, and both can totally disappear after hurricanes reclaim them into the Gulf of Maine.

Bar Harbor, Maine · United States