Miami Beach is undoubtedly a spectacular place, but is its beauty man-made? Miami Beach is famous for its golden-brown sands and sparkling blue waters, but do the waters flow naturally, and is the sand synthetic? You do not have to investigate any further because it is time to discover whether Miami beach is artificial or not.
Miami Beach is a man-made, artificial structure built on what was once swamp land. The trees were removed, and sand from the Biscayne Bay Lagoon was spread over the area to create the beach’s synthetic surface. Barrier islands along the Florida shore supply the beach with its natural water flow.
The architectural design of the man-made Miami beach was a structural masterpiece of its time! In this post, you will discover how Miami Beach is still surviving today despite undergoing several challenges, requiring constant maintenance, and is on the verge of collapse.
Is Miami Beach Natural Or Man-Made?
With its beautiful land and sea attractions, Miami Beach has become well-known today as the ultimate beach destination. However, it was not always this glamorous. Miami beach was nothing more than a watery wetland overpopulated by trees.
Carl Fisher was the individual who brought the beach vision to reality. Fisher had worked on various entrepreneurial projects, but his most impressive project had to be the building of Miami Beach!
Constructing Miami Beach was extraordinary because Fisher and his team created a land surface on top of natural water. The construction team had to remove the trees dominating the swamp, leaving behind an uneven surface filled with gaping holes. An even surface was created by filling the gaps with water so they could continue with the construction of Miami Beach.
The next phase of the building process was to spread sand taken from Biscayne Bay lagoon over the newly even foundation. Following the spreading of the sand, Carl Fisher and his team had to wait for it to dry. When the sand dried, the artificial Miami Beach land was ready!
Construction on Miami Beach is ongoing and does not look like it will be completed any time soon! Since the moment Miami Beach came into existence, it has been an ever-changing city with new developments springing up daily.
How Is Miami Beach Maintained Today?
At the time of Carl Fisher, extracting sand from Biscayne Bay to create Miami’s beach surface seemed like an excellent idea, but Fisher did not think about the long-term future effects of the design. Back in the day, the first completed construction design seemed like it would last forever, but the course of nature had other ideas.
Mother nature greeted Miami Beach with a surprise visit and washed away the first design. The first building construction encountered a massive hurricane. So, Miami Beach had to be rebuilt. Constant maintenance is needed to re-surface the area with sand to keep the city’s land surface afloat and safe.
In addition to the beauty of Miami Beach, the white sand is another reason why people are always curious about the beaches’ artificiality.
Many people also think Miami Beach is artificial because of the unique coloring found in the ocean water. Whenever people visit the city, especially first-time visitors, they are always amazed at how blue the seawater is. Many believe that chemicals have been added to the water to maintain the blue coloring.
However, this is not the case. The blue appearance has nothing to do with chemicals and everything to do with the Atlantic and Caribbean oceans. Whenever the waters from the two seas mix on the seashore, a distinctive blue coloring is then created.
When Was Miami Beach First Made?
Originally, Miami Beach was a coconut and avocado farm before it evolved into the extravagant city it is today. However, the money made from the sales of coconuts and avocados sold on the farm was not enough to cover the farm’s expenses, so the farm was sold to a developer.
The Miami Beach development was not started until 1915 when Carl Fisher bought the farm. A further 15 years were needed to collect enough sand for Miami Beach’s land surface. As a result, Fisher and his team only finished collecting the sand in 1930.
How Is Miami Beach Being Prevented From Sinking?
Mother nature seems displeased with Miami Beach for taking over the original swamp land. In revenge, she uses her forces to unleash a tremendous rise in sea levels. By now, the water levels have risen by 12 inches, and there is no stopping there! Due to the increase, scientists suggest that the city will be completely underwater by the year 2100 (call Miami Beach the new Atlantis!).
The man-made land surface of Miami Beach, which rests on the water, makes the construction teams work tirelessly for the city’s survival. The city is committed to preventing the collapse of its beloved city by constantly fighting against mother nature to keep it afloat.
Government officials are trying to find effective tactics for overcoming mother nature and preventing the city from sinking. As a defense mechanism, officials plan on building larger water pumps to drain out more water more rapidly and by building higher streets and buildings.
As part of another plan, the United States army added more sand to the beach to prevent it from sinking. The US army took sand from within a mine and then emptied the sand onto Miami Beach to raise the beach surface level.
Rather than building Miami beach on a swamp, a more solid foundation was needed. Still, with today’s technologies, anything is possible. In this ever-growing tech age, maybe in the future, they will invent a more secure way of keeping Miami’s beach surface afloat, where nature will not be a problem, and officials will not have to keep rebuilding.
Conclusion
Carl Fisher and his team artificially created the Miami Beach land surface. They built Miami Beach on a swamp. The surrounding waters are natural, and only the land’s surface is man-made. To build Miami Beach, the team had to cut down the swamp trees and create an even surface. The sand was poured out and left to dry, making the land surface of Miami Beach.
The city building project started in 1915, and it took 15 years to gather enough sand for the project. Today, Miami Beach must be constantly maintained as it is on the verge of sinking due to rising sea levels. To keep the beloved city afloat, officials and construction teams add sand to raise the land surface level.
References
- https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article15798998.html
- https://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/2020/01/15/miami-beach-is-dumping-16-million-in-fresh-sand-to-push-back-against-erosion/
- https://www.visitflorida.com/travel-ideas/articles/florida-white-orange-dark-sand-beaches/
- https://www.miamiandbeaches.com/things-to-do/attractions/explore-miami-beach
- https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/miami-carl-and-jane-fisher/
- https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/100-years-the-dark-and-dirty-history-of-miami-beach-7552169
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/06/25/rising-sea-levels-condo-collapse/
- https://media.rff.org/documents/FCO_Infographics.pdf
- https://www.britannica.com/place/Miami-Beacha
