beachtown: a location near a beach where sun, sand, sea and fun can be found!
Siesta Key
West Coast
Florida
USA
Gulf of Mexico in 3D perspective.
Siesta Key is a barrier island off the central western coast of Florida in the United States of America. It is situated between Sarasota Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. A portion of it lies within the city boundary of Sarasota, but the majority of the key is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sarasota County. Siesta Beach stretches from a site named Point of Rocks, just below the middle point of Siesta Key, north to the Siesta Village region. It might be considered Siesta Key's premier claim to fame. From being chosen as "Best Overall" in the "1987 International Sand Contest" to being named the "Best Sand Beach in America 2008" by the Travel Channel, Siesta Key's Siesta Beach has accumulated numerous awards in recognition of its soft, clean, pure-white sand. Consistently, it is rated among the top ten beaches of Florida, the U.S., and the world. Harvard University's geology department found the sand of Siesta Beach was 99% pure quartz. Unlike most beaches that are composed of crushed shells, rocks or lava, this sand is pure white and finer in texture than most refined sugar. The sand has been described as "dazzling" and it is stated that it never feels hot. Siesta Key's remarkable sand and the azure, warm water of its beaches are a great attraction for tourists and local beachgoers alike who come to experience the sand and the water. Point of Rocks is a shallow formation of limestone rock that extends into the Gulf of Mexico from the middle of the western shore of Siesta Key. This very distinctive site, geologically unusual for Southwest Florida, provides habitat to a wide variety of fish and is, perhaps, the only good snorkeling beach on the west coast of Florida. For centuries, Point of Rocks has been a landmark for mariners and "legend" has it as the starting point for maps to burial places of treasures plundered by pirates.
General Location: Located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast. Much of the land mass of the state is a large peninsula with the Gulf of Mexico to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east.
