The Beach at Tĩnh Gia

Bike and diggers The beach near Tĩnh Gia is long, flat, sandy, lined with
tropical vegetation, and provides a living for humans and animals alike
While Tĩnh Gia Town may not have much going for it, the sea does its best to compensate. Some three kilometres away lies the coast with its sand beach and the resulting activities that beaches and sea attract. The Beach The Beach Digging for Molluscs Digging for molluscs or lugworms in the intertidal zone At first glance the sands seem empty, a closer look shows the richness of life they support. Digging for Molluscs Beach diggers who cycle to work. The roughness of the sand's surface is formed by the material brought up from their burrows of the millions of small crabs that live here. Below a picture of these materials which the crabs form into small pellets Indeed so rich are such sands that, per cubic metre, the biomass in intertidal zones is greater than that found in the Amazonian jungle. While humans and birds know to dig for hidden food, areas of the beach provide evidence on the surface of this richness. Here an example is offered by the casts of crabs brought to the surface by the millions of these busy house cleaners. Crabs on the Beach Two Tower Shells Turritella bacillum - Tower Shells, on Tĩnh Gia Beach. Larger ones, like the two here, are about 10 cms (4 inches) long More evidence of this richness comes in the shape of Tower Shells left behind by their inhabitants as they move on to a larger property. Two Tower Shells Two Tower Shells The water is near to 30 degrees most of the year, but the heavy and nearly constant swell combined with the sand and mud stirred up by it, makes the sea unattractive for swimming. Fifteen kilometres away and rarely visible in the thick atmosphere of northern Vietnam is the island called Hòn Mê - just seen here on the horizon - this is the preserve of the military and likely to remain so with current Chinese expansionism. Sand Waves The swell in the China Sea may be a couple of metres, but the ripples in the sand it leaves are delicate in the extreme. Beach and Dog Like any coastal area, for most of the time, the beach at Tĩnh Gia
is left to the reflective walker and the occasional dog
The next page has more on tourism at Tĩnh Gia Beach. Umbrellas at Tinh Gia beach. line
Saturday 20th February 2016 Murphy

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