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Coquina (Spanish
Spanish language

Spanish or Castilian is a Romance languages that originated in northern Spain, and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile and evolved into the principal language of government and trade....
, "cockle"; ) is an incompletely consolidated sedimentary rock
Sedimentary rock

Sedimentary rock is one of the three main Rock types . Sedimentary rock is formed by deposition and consolidation of mineral and organic material and from precipitation of minerals from solution....
 found in coastal Florida
Florida

Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....
. Coquina was formed in association with marine
Ocean

An ocean is a major body of Seawater, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a World Ocean that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas....
 reef
Reef

In nautical terminology, a reef is a Rock , bar , or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water .Many reefs result from abiotic processes?deposition of sand, wave erosion planning down rock outcrops, and other natural processes?but the best-known reefs are the coral reefs of tropical waters developed through biotic processes do...
s and is a variety of "coral rag
Coral rag

Coral rag is a rubbly limestone composed of ancient coral reef material. The term also refers to the building blocks quarried from these strata which are an important local building material in areas such as the east African coast and Florida....
", technically a subset of limestone
Limestone

File:Limestone Formation In Waitomo.jpgLimestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the mineral calcite . The deposition of limestone strata is often a by-product and indicator of biological activity in the geology record....
.

ina is mainly composed of mineral
Mineral

A mineral is a naturally occurring solid formed through Geology processes that has a characteristic chemical composition, a highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties....
 calcite
Calcite

Calcite is a Carbonate minerals and the most stable Polymorphism of calcium carbonate . The other polymorphs are the minerals aragonite and vaterite....
, often including some phosphate
Phosphate

A phosphate, an inorganic chemical, is a Salt of phosphoric acid. Inorganic phosphates are mining to obtain phosphorus for use in agriculture and industry....
, in the form of seashell
Seashell

A seashell, also known as a sea shell, or simply as a shell, is the common name for a hard, protective outer layer, a shell, or in some cases a "test", that was created by a sea creature, a Marine organism....
s or coral
Coral

Corals are marine organisms from the class Anthozoa and exist as small sea anemone?like polyps, typically in colonies of many identical individuals....
. It is found in surface exposures along the east coast of Florida from St. Johns County
St. Johns County, Florida

St. Johns County is located in northeastern Florida. As of the United States Census 2000, the population was 123,135. The United States Census Bureau estimated the population as of 2005 at 161,521....
 to Palm Beach County
Palm Beach County, Florida

Palm Beach County has the largest land area located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2007, the county had an estimated population of 1,351,236 , making it the third most populous in the state of Florida and the twenty ninth most populous in the United States....
. It may occur up to 20 miles inland from the coast in the sub-surface.

sionally quarried
Quarry

A quarry is a type of open-pit mining from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone....
 or mined
Mining

Mining is the extraction of value minerals or other geology materials from the earth, usually from an ore body, vein or seam. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, Sodium chloride and potash....
 and used as a building stone in Florida
Florida

Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....
 for over 400 years, coquina forms the walls of the Castillo de San Marcos
Castillo de San Marcos

The 'Castillo de San Marcos' is a Spanish built fort located in the city of St. Augustine, Florida, Florida, United States. It was known as Fort Marion from 1821 until 1942, and Fort St....
, Saint Augustine.






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Coquina (Spanish
Spanish language

Spanish or Castilian is a Romance languages that originated in northern Spain, and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile and evolved into the principal language of government and trade....
, "cockle"; ) is an incompletely consolidated sedimentary rock
Sedimentary rock

Sedimentary rock is one of the three main Rock types . Sedimentary rock is formed by deposition and consolidation of mineral and organic material and from precipitation of minerals from solution....
 found in coastal Florida
Florida

Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....
. Coquina was formed in association with marine
Ocean

An ocean is a major body of Seawater, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a World Ocean that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas....
 reef
Reef

In nautical terminology, a reef is a Rock , bar , or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water .Many reefs result from abiotic processes?deposition of sand, wave erosion planning down rock outcrops, and other natural processes?but the best-known reefs are the coral reefs of tropical waters developed through biotic processes do...
s and is a variety of "coral rag
Coral rag

Coral rag is a rubbly limestone composed of ancient coral reef material. The term also refers to the building blocks quarried from these strata which are an important local building material in areas such as the east African coast and Florida....
", technically a subset of limestone
Limestone

File:Limestone Formation In Waitomo.jpgLimestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the mineral calcite . The deposition of limestone strata is often a by-product and indicator of biological activity in the geology record....
.

Composition and distribution

Coquina is mainly composed of mineral
Mineral

A mineral is a naturally occurring solid formed through Geology processes that has a characteristic chemical composition, a highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties....
 calcite
Calcite

Calcite is a Carbonate minerals and the most stable Polymorphism of calcium carbonate . The other polymorphs are the minerals aragonite and vaterite....
, often including some phosphate
Phosphate

A phosphate, an inorganic chemical, is a Salt of phosphoric acid. Inorganic phosphates are mining to obtain phosphorus for use in agriculture and industry....
, in the form of seashell
Seashell

A seashell, also known as a sea shell, or simply as a shell, is the common name for a hard, protective outer layer, a shell, or in some cases a "test", that was created by a sea creature, a Marine organism....
s or coral
Coral

Corals are marine organisms from the class Anthozoa and exist as small sea anemone?like polyps, typically in colonies of many identical individuals....
. It is found in surface exposures along the east coast of Florida from St. Johns County
St. Johns County, Florida

St. Johns County is located in northeastern Florida. As of the United States Census 2000, the population was 123,135. The United States Census Bureau estimated the population as of 2005 at 161,521....
 to Palm Beach County
Palm Beach County, Florida

Palm Beach County has the largest land area located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2007, the county had an estimated population of 1,351,236 , making it the third most populous in the state of Florida and the twenty ninth most populous in the United States....
. It may occur up to 20 miles inland from the coast in the sub-surface.

History and use

Occasionally quarried
Quarry

A quarry is a type of open-pit mining from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone....
 or mined
Mining

Mining is the extraction of value minerals or other geology materials from the earth, usually from an ore body, vein or seam. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, Sodium chloride and potash....
 and used as a building stone in Florida
Florida

Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....
 for over 400 years, coquina forms the walls of the Castillo de San Marcos
Castillo de San Marcos

The 'Castillo de San Marcos' is a Spanish built fort located in the city of St. Augustine, Florida, Florida, United States. It was known as Fort Marion from 1821 until 1942, and Fort St....
, Saint Augustine. The stone makes a very good material for forts, particularly those built during the period of heavy cannon use. Because of coquina's softness, cannon balls would sink into, rather than shatter or puncture, the walls of the Castillo de San Marcos.

When first quarried, coquina is extremely soft. This softness makes it very easy to remove from the quarry and cut into shape. However, the stone is also at first much too soft to be used for building. In order to be used as a building material, the stone is left out to dry for approximately one to three years, which causes the stone to harden into a usable, but still comparatively soft, form.

Coquina has also been used as a source of paving material. It is usually poorly cemented and easily breaks into component shell or coral fragments, which can be substituted for gravel
Gravel

Gravel is rock that is of a specific particle size range. Specifically, it is is any loose rock that is larger than two millimeters in its largest dimension and no more than 64 millimeters ....
 or crushed harder rocks
Rock (geology)

In geology, rock is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock....
. Large pieces of coquina of unusual shape are sometimes used as landscape decoration.

Because coquina often includes a component of phosphate, it is sometimes mined for use as fertilizer
Fertilizer

Fertilizers are chemical compounds given to plants to promote growth; they are usually applied either through the soil, for uptake by plant roots, or by foliar feeding, for uptake through leaves....
.

Notable exposures of coquina

  • Washington Oaks State Gardens
    Washington Oaks State Gardens

    Washington Oaks Gardens State Park is a Florida State Parks located near Palm Coast, Florida, along State Road A1A . The park is most famous for its formal gardens, but it also preserves the original habitat of a northeast Florida barrier island....
    , Flagler County, Florida
    Flagler County, Florida

    Flagler County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the United States Census 2000, the population was 49,832. The United States Census Bureau 2009 estimate for the county is 95,500, its 66.7% growth since the 2000 Census making it the fastest-growing county in the United States by percentage of 2000 population....
  • House of Refuge, Hutchinson Island
    Hutchinson Island

    Hutchinson Island is a barrier island on the coast of Martin County, Florida and St. Lucie County, Florida counties, Florida. The southern one-third of Hutchinson Island is in Martin County while the northern two-thirds is in St....
    , Martin County, Florida
    Martin County, Florida

    Martin County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 126,731. The United States Census Bureau 2005 estimate for the county is 139,728 ....
  • Blowing Rocks Preserve
    Blowing Rocks Preserve

    Blowing Rocks Preserve is an environmental wildlife sanctuary on Jupiter Island in Hobe Sound, Florida, Martin County, Florida, Florida, United States....
     (and along Country Club Road), Palm Beach County, Florida
    Palm Beach County, Florida

    Palm Beach County has the largest land area located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2007, the county had an estimated population of 1,351,236 , making it the third most populous in the state of Florida and the twenty ninth most populous in the United States....
  • North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher
    North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher

    The North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher is a public aquarium located at Fort Fisher in Kure Beach, North Carolina, USA. It is one of three state-operated aquarium facilities operated since 1976 by the North Carolina Aquarium and is accrediated by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums....
    , features a "Coquina Outcrop Touch Pool"


See also

  • List of types of limestone
    List of types of limestone

    The following is a list of various types of limestone according to location....


External links