Blackrock Beach, Big Talbot Island State Park, Florida. 2020

Low tide along Nassau Sound in northeast Florida reveals unique and striking formations of a dark soil known as black rock. Looking like a volcanic rock, it is defined as a spodosol and is actually a soft, acidic soil that is found globally on only approximately four percent of ice-free land. Despite being nutrient poor, these areas are often covered in forest and, when fertilized, can become highly productive lands. In the United States, spodosols account for about 3.5 percent of land area. Big Talbot Island, on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, is a significant asset to Jacksonville and its surrounding developed areas, protecting the urban center from rough seas and strong storms through a geologic history of shifting sands and tidal flow.