How come ocean water is clear in Miami and murky in SC beaches?

[raccoon]

Is it because the sand is different, or is it the water temperature?

[hobbit709]

1. All the crap from FL floats north

[liberal N proud]

2. It has to do with Ocean currents

They circulate counter-clockwise and dump into the Atlantic through the Florida Straits. Thus protecting the Gulf from the cloudy Atlantic Ocean waters. Miami gets a mix of Atlantic water and Gulf flow silt.

Water temp also is a factor.

[tosh]

3. Another factor is rivers.

The South Carolina coast has the mouths of a lot of rivers.

Ooops - image too large, I think.

Scroll down to third image: http://geology.com/state-map/south-carolina.shtml

[blm]

4. Plus, those rivers and lakes are practically sewer systems - you're told to not eat fish caught

out of those waters more than once a month.

SC has allowed its industries to get away with dumping their waste for decades.

[raccoon]

5. thanks for that link! nt

[rainy]

6. In addition to the golf Stream waters being much clearer

The ocean chruns right up to the edge of the coast in the more northern states up from Florida. Florida's coasts are very shallow for many many yards up to the shore giving the sand time to settle and less wave action.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

7. A lot of it is silt from the Ashley and Cooper Rivers at Charleston

Charlestonians have a saying, "The Ashley and Cooper Rivers join together to form the Atlantic Ocean."

I did my scuba certification in the Cooper River thirty years ago and the visibility was maybe two feet.

The horrible visibility off the coast was a major problem in recovering the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley in 2000. link