The Nitty-Gritty of Sand Welcome to Martha's Vineyard, where the ocean comes right up to the shore, and the sand is so friendly it hops into your car and comes home with you. You're going to encounter a lot of sand on your visit to the Vineyard, whether you're just biking through to see the sights in an afternoon, or are considering something more serious, such as making an offer on West Tisbury. But even though it is everywhere on the Island, as a topic for conversation sand is sadly neglected. And that's really too bad.
Sand is a fascinating subject.
Geologists define sand as mineral, rock or soil particles that range in diameter from two millimeters down to one-sixteenth millimeter. You can make your own sand quite easily from rocks with a household ballpeen hammer, but here on the Vineyard that hardly seems necessary. Ocean waves and currents are constantly eroding rock into sand. The grinding action of glaciers is another important source of sand, though we haven't had a good glacier in the neighborhood for ages. Then there's the erosive effect of weather, and weather occurs on the Vineyard quite regularly.