Sanibel Island
Florida, January 8, 2008

Lighthouse Beach

Sanibel is one of the unique barrier islands of the world, having an east-west orientation when most islands are north south. Hence, the island is gifted with great sandy beaches and an abundance of shells. It is also due to the fact that Sanibel is part of a large plateau that extends out into the Gulf of Mexico for miles. It is this plateau that acts like a shelf for seashells to gather.

Sanibel and Captiva formed as one island about 6,000 years ago. The first humans in the area were the Calusa, who arrived about 2,500 years ago. The Calusa were a powerful Indian nation who came to dominate most of Southwest Florida through trade and their elaborate system of canals and waterways. Sanibel remained an important Calusa settlement until the collapse of their empire, soon after the arrival of the Europeans.

Captiva was severed in 1926 when a hurricane's storm surge washed away a new channel.

The Gulf side beaches are excellent on both islands, and are world renowned for their variety of seashells, which include coquinas, scallops, whelks, sand dollars, and many other species of both shallow-water and deeper-water mollusks, primarily bivalves and gastropods. The Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum on Sanibel is the only museum in the world dedicated entirely to the study of shells.

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Sanibel Island Florida, January 8, 2008

Sanibel Island
Florida, January 8, 2008