Name: The origin of the name "Windmill Beach" is not known. Depth: Maximum depth is about 8 m on the sand bottom near the inshore reefs. The 10 m contour is about 300 m offshore Marine life: A wide variety of invertebrate and fish species may be found at this site. Do not discount the shallow waters of the north cove, as a variety of small fish live in this area. The Striped sand slug, is known only from the sand bottom east of Windmill Beach. Shoal of yellowtail, The seldom-seen Gilchrist's sand slug Photography: A good site for photography. Macro equipment is most likely to give good results, but a wide-angle lens can also sometimes be useful. Topography: Sand bottom with large granite outcrops and boulders, some with very high relief, extending from flat sand to near or above the surface. Slowly shelving beaches. The north cove is very gradually sloping sand near the beach but gets rocky near the mouth, where the depth gets down to about 3 to 4 m. In this area, there are lots of small boulders which provide shelter for a variety of invertebrates and fish. At the mouth, it gets deeper quite suddenly over a rocky ledge and drops down to the sand bottom which continues all the way north to Photographer’s Reef and beyond. There are a number of very steep pinnacles in the area to the east of the north cove, which rises from the sand at about 8 to 9 m depth to between 3 and 5 m of the surface, and a number of smaller outcrops and small boulders. The south cove initially slopes more steeply and remains mostly sand bottom. It flattens out soon and is bordered by a rock on both sides.