The concept of a 'river of sand' in the littoral drift system has misled a generation of geologists and engineers. Except for artificial methods of inlet bypassing, man-made structures in the surf zone are of no lasting value. Lagoons and estuaries are natural traps for sediments from the land, shore and offshore sources. It is a fact that particles on the beaches of Florida have not traveled a great distance in the present cycle. There are no rivers in Florida now contributing sand to the beaches; new sediment must come from erosion of the shore or from offshore. Biogenic sources cannot be overlooked. Study of the Holocene beach and barrier island deposits prove a formative interval occurred about 4500 to about 1500 years ago. The source of sediment was from offshore. With the present high stand of sea level, this supply of sediment has been largely exhausted or is now beyond the reach of waves. It is for this reason that beach erosion can only be effectively prevented by artificially adding new sediment. The source of the sand should be from coarse, shelly deposits. A booster pump on the dredge ladder makes it possible to dig multiple, deep borrow pits into suitable Pleistocene deposits beyond the surf. Lithified zones result in increased dredging costs: however, 5 to 15% rock fragments in the 'spoil' are probably worth the increased investment. A minor amount of particles, pebble to cobble size, contribute to permanency without detracting from the characteristics of the restored beach.