Jasper Beach

Last week we took a field trip to Jasper Beach in Machiasport. It’s a rare beach covered with pebbles, not sand. The pebbles are not actually “jasper” but are rhyolite – of volcanic origin. I learned these facts on the Internet. This is a well-written, almost poetic, article about it.

The sheer number of pebbles was a bit overwhelming. If you like rocks, there certainly were a lot to look at.

The sky was dramatic the day we were there. No rain fell, but lots of clouds passed over.

This rocky outcropping down at the tideline looks blurry in the photograph, but that’s actually what it looked like. I wonder what was different about this rock and the pebbles.

The plant life along the edge of the beach included this American Mountain Ash, Sorbus Americana. Also known as: “Rowantree, rowan berry, roundwood, mountain sumac, winetree, dogberry, service tree, wild ash, quickbeam, and missey-moosey, among others.” (Arbor Day Foundation’s page)

The clusters of berries were huge and bright red. I’m surprised the birds hadn’t gotten into them yet.

There was also some dead wood sticking out of the pebbles. Had the extension of the pebbly beach claimed this tree’s life?

Like the dead trees, the whole area is a little creepy. There is an abandoned neighborhood right across the street from the beach – an old military base. The rumor is that the homes were abandoned due to toxic well water. This article seems to confirm that rumor – the chemical of most concern is TCE (trichloroethylene), which was used to clean radar equipment. After usage, it was dumped into old dry wells – not realizing the chemical could spread underground and contaminate ground water and live wells. So crazy. It was interesting to find this history written up on a website called “The Quoddy Tides, The Most Easterly Published Newspaper in the US.” I might visit this website again, even though it doesn’t cover my town. The hyper-local news about this very rural part of Maine (“downeast” of us) is fascinating.