Myrtle Beach is located on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina, and is situated along the Atlantic coast between the ocean and the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. It is part of a long and continuous 60-mile stretch of beach known as the "Grand Strand" in the northeastern part of the state. The warm Atlantic Ocean reaches 80 °F (27 °C) or higher in the summer months off Myrtle Beach, making for warm and sultry summer nights. The beach season in Myrtle Beach normally runs from late April through late October, and sea surface temperatures are often in the lower 80s (26–28 °C) . The Atlantic Ocean near Myrtle Beach has been described as more blue than usual due to the lack of tropical activity, hot weather, relatively calm winds in the atmosphere, and no tropical systems in the Atlantic, which have allowed sediments in the water to settle to the ocean floor.