What are the

Códigos Diamante?

I named the Diamond Codes a series of patterns I have observed that appear as footprints in the sand after the ocean advances and retracts.

 These figures have a fractal aspect, structures whose common characteristic is that their identity is constructed by the repetition or iteration of a given process, regardless of how we observe it or what part of the set we take; there is a similarity between its aspects.

Multiple units of isosceles triangles, consisting of a vertex from where two similar sides are detached, form these figures. There are a great variety of these triangles, some are perfect in their geometry and others have deformations in their sides that make them appear as forms with domes.

These triangles have a complex symmetry that are difficult to quantify, and they stick to one another in a fractal formation giving the figures an aspect difficult to explain, and that different people find similarities with various objects of nature.

Each triangle is formed when the tide recedes after having advanced on the sand. Both lateral sides of the triangle are created two lanes where the ocean water circulates and limit the area of the triangle.

The length of these triangles measure from approximately 5-10 centimeters, up to practically one meter in length. They have a depth on their outer side that I have measured from 1 to 2 millimeters.

 The group of all the triangles has a half-life only until the next wave arrives and clears them. Generally, it varies from 8 to 20 seconds.

The figures once erased by the sea are not repeated and if in that precise place other figures are formed they are totally different from the previous ones, making these Diamond Codes unique and unrepeatable. This creates a very difficult challenge for the photographer to document these images of such a short life span.

In my opinion, the variables that make these images appear, among others, have to do with the complexity of the tides, their strength and frequency, the slope and height of the land where the tide advances, the fineness of the grains of sand and the presence of the wind and its direction.

 I have observed these figures throughout the year, without seasonal differences.

With the passing of the day, the change of the position of the sun is noted with different tones in these figures.  In particular, grains of sand with high silicon content have a shiny appearance as if they were gold nuggets.

In the Photo and Video Galleries, you will find examples of the different Diamond Codes, as well as the process of how I studied their formation and documented the characteristics mentioned above.