San Diego Reader

Cobbled shorelines are greeting some beachgoers early this summer season, as in past years. North County beaches tend to suffer most, as the natural sand replenishment in the area is disrupted by dams blocking the flow of sediment down the larger streams and rivers. Some sand scooped up from dredging operations is being moved onto the beaches to mitigate this problem. South County's beaches fare better. The widest beach of all, Coronado, is protected from sand loss by the jutting Point Loma peninsula; it catches some sand drifting on currents northward from the mouth of the Tijuana River.