Blue Coast

During my recent road trip with my folks to the Big Sur area I was plagued by the question: "Why is the water so blue along the central California coast whereas on the northern California coast the water often appears to be gray or brown?"

The short answer: calmer water that doesn't stir up a lot of sediment + low phytoplankton + low chlorophyll = very clear, thus very blue water.

Vista point south of Carmel


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