I was vacationing at Blue Mountain Beach in Santa Rosa, Florida with my husband Jeff and our friends since college, Frank and Linda. Jeff and I had spent the previous weekend at the Gideon Putnam Hotel and The Roosevelt Baths & Spa located in Saratoga Spa State Park in Saratoga Springs, New York. I was awed by the carbonated springs located throughout the Spa Park - especially the three "spouters" that blew into the air like geysers. These are the only springs of this type in the U.S. east of the Mississippi River. I felt fortunate to see such a unique feature of our earth.

I soon learned that our location on the Florida panhandle was in the middle of another rare feature of the earth - coastal dune lakes.

According to Ginger Jackson Sinton in her book, Rare Coastal Dune Lakes: Biodiversity and a Sense of Home on 30A, only about 25 coastal dune lakes exist in the world. The exact number is debatable, but 15 of them are in the part of Florida I was visiting. The only other places in the world that have them are Australia, New Zealand, Madagascar, Oregon and South Carolina.

These rare coastal dune lakes are spaced along Scenic Highway 30A in South Walton County, a 26-mile strip of coastline in northwest Florida. The coastal dune lakes are bodies of shallow water lying between the high gulf sand dunes to the south and the pine flatlands to the north, all within two miles of the Gulf Coast.

Walton County is the sixth most biodiverse spot in the U.S. It is home to thousands of native plant and animal species. The coastal dune lakes are biodiverse ecosystem treasures. The water is mostly fresh, but sometimes brackish. It fluctuates between salt water from the Gulf of Mexico and fresh water from the lakes. Some of the lakes are more saline than others, and their chemistry continually changes. When the water level in the lakes gets critically high, the lowest elevation of the beach opens up, sending lake water into the gulf through a temporary waterway called an outfall or outlet. During this "blowout," salt water with organic plant and animal matter from the sea enters the lake. The waterway eventually closes again.

I enjoyed morning walks along the beach between Draper Lake and Big Redfish Lake. Linda and I enjoyed driving along route 30A looking for the lakes. Here are some photos I took along the beach and at the lakes...

The beach walking from Big Redfish Lake to Draper Lake

The sand on this beach is sugar white and fine, and the water was so clear that I actually swam in it - something I haven't done since seeing the movie Jaws.

The outflow to Draper Lake did not yet connect to the Gulf of Mexico

The color of the water of Draper Lake is typical of the Coastal Dune Lakes. It is dark from the tannic acid produced from pine and cypress needles and leaf litter. The organic matter stains the water as it filters through the forested uplands before it washes into the lakes.

A Dune between Draper Lake and the Gulf of Mexico

Sunset at Blue Mountain Beach, halfway between Draper Lake and Big Redfish Lake

The Southern end of Big Redfish Lake from Route 30A

The Northern end of Big Redfish Lake from Route 30A

The Southern end of Western Lake from Route 30A

According to a roadside plaque, the Western Lake tree line on the east side of the lake is a visual hallmark of the South Walton area. This notable stand of slash pines marks the transition from coastal dunes to maritime forest.

The Northern end of Western Lake from Route 30A

The beach walking from Draper Lake to Big Redfish Lake

On the walk to Big Redfish Lake

Big Redfish Lake from the Beach

On the walk back to Draper Lake

Find more information about coastal dune lakes at:

• Coastal Dune Lakes
  Coastal Dune Lakes Documentary
  

  	Trailer (9:33)		Episode 5 A Prayer to the Dune Lakes (3:43)
  	Episode 1 Introduction to the Lakes (2:54)		Episode 6 Education (4:14)
  	Episode 2 How the Lakes Work (3:18)		Episode 7 Activities (2:44)
  	Episode 3 CDL Advisory Board (2:47)		Episode 8 Places of Peace (2:44)
  	Episode 4 Jewels of 30A (3:11)		Episode 9 30A (4:12)

• Walton County, FL - Home Page - Coastal Dune Lakes (has links to aerial photos of the lakes during an outfall/outlet)
• Coastal Dune Lakes | 30A
• Coastal Dune Lakes FAQs - Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance