Here, on the Western border of Tennessee, in the Mississippi River, there is a gigantic sand island. During a typical low-water Summer, it is about 4 miles long and 1/2 mile wide. The river percolates through the entire thing. If you dig down to the current river level, the hole or trench will fill with COLD clear water, equal to the surface of the river. I’ve wondered whether the friction of the water moving through the mineral-rich sand and gravel has anything with the properties of this area. The sand island is situated about halfway between two parallel faults–3, actually. One is on the Arkansas side of the river and a recently-discovered pair on the Tennessee side, running parallel to the Ark. fault, and the faults also MAY have something to do with the energies there. They are not associated with the New Madrid system. Anyway, all people that I have introduced to the island, immediately feel an energizing effect, and all make the same comment: ‘powerful place’, or ‘…feel a power here’. I have experienced several paranormal occurrences there, too. The one that forever stands out in my mind is, one morning I was standing on the riverbank, about 3 AM, looking across to the island and saw a good-sized fire burning a little over a half-mile away. About every minute or so a silhouette would pass in front of the fire, like someone was walking around it. After I’d watched this for nearly 2 hours, and a trace of daylight was coming on, the fire winked out as if someone simply flipped a switch and put it out. I waited about a half-hour for it to get lighter, then struck out across the lower beach to check it out and see who was camping up there. When I reached the place where I had seen the fire, there was not a trace of it. There were NO footprints, or ANY marks on the vast expanse of trackless sand that had very plainly had a lot of activity over the previous 2 hours. Due to the changing weather patterns, this place was accessible by foot last Summer for the first time in 5 years. It used to be accessible nearly every Summer. I hope to be able to return this Summer. The upper–approximately–one fourth, is covered with a gravel field that’s loaded with petrified wood, amber, moonstone, carnelian, jasper, and Pliestocene fossils. There are also occasional “Fulgurites” to be found after the sand has been struck by lightning. It can be reachd by boat anytime it emerges from the river, but can be reached on foot only when the river falls to around MINUS 5 feet and lower. At that time, the highest point of the island stands about 30 feet above the river.