Mattole River

This was our last look at the coast before seeing it again many hours later down near Point Bragg - there aren't a lot of places to get to the coast between here and there, except for Shelter Cove.

AERIAL VIEW

But what a neat spot! Just a small river mouth and a spit on a remote coast with very few other people around.  A beach dominated by dark sands, which is common along here, and I suppose reflects a combination of the provenance (the source rocks) and the freshness of the beach material (which means a lot of the darker minerals that will eventually be ground up and lost are still abundant compared to the tougher quartz that dominates many more established lighter colored beaches).

I think when I choose beaches from my collection to put on display, this would definitely be a top pick.