Sanibel Harbour Resort Live Cam

Geological Foundations and Early Inhabitants

Sanibel and Captiva Islands, fringed by the Gulf of Mexico to the south and Pine Island Sound to the north, owe their unique landforms to millennia of sedimentary processes. Rising only a few feet above sea level, these barrier islands were sculpted by tidal currents and wind-driven sand deposition. Beneath the shifting dunes and mangrove-lined estuaries lies a foundation of Pleistocene limestone, evidence of ancient coral reefs that once flourished when sea levels were higher.

Long before European contact, the Calusa people thrived here. Revered as master fishermen, they constructed shell mounds—locally known as “middens”—that now punctuate the interior forests. These mounds not only served as refuse heaps but also as platforms for ceremonial structures and high ground during the rainy season. The shell layers, composed primarily of oyster, clam, and conch remains, provide archaeologists with precise stratigraphic records of seasonal harvests and climatic fluctuations.