Glass Beach is one of the most unique beaches in the world, not only because nature's beauty, but because time and the pounding surf have corrected one of man's mistakes. For less than 20 years, starting around 1949, this cove that is now called "Glass Beach" was where town folk would toss their trash. It is hard to believe these days, but back then people dumped all kinds of refuse straight into the ocean, which of course included lots of glass. Thankfully, in 1967, the North Coast Water Quality Board realized this mistake and a new dump away from the ocean was created. Now, almost 50 years later, Mother Nature has cleansed and reclaimed this beach. Years of pounding waves and tidal action have crushed, rounded and polished tons of glass and piled it onto the beach. You'll find the occasional reminder of it's earlier life, but for the most part what you'll see is millions of pieces of sea glass sparkling in the sun.