Black sand. Sandy beaches: red, white, yellow

Most often, when a person represents the summer, he has the following associations: the sea, the sun, the beach and hot yellow sand. So soft, golden or orange, red, black, and maybe green? Color and unique, they are located around the world, and some of them are truly incredible.

Beaches of all colors of the rainbow

Picturesque and colorful sandy beaches can be found in many parts of the world. According to the Guinness Book of Records, the world's whiteest sand is in Australia. Golden beaches can be found in Manduria (Italy). The individual color of each grain is affected by minerals, rock composition, plants and even animals that live in the area. The same beach can look more yellow, golden, brown or bright orange, depending on the time of day, sun and weather.

The most beautiful and unusual beaches

Very unusual look pink sands of the beach on the island of Harbor (Bahamas). Located on the eastern side of the island, they have such a shade because of the red shells of unicellular marine animals mixed with white sand. The green Papakolea beach in Hawaii or the coast of Floreana (Galapagos Islands) looks very harmonious. If you carefully consider a handful of such sand, you can see a huge number of vitreous crystals of olive color, they are what make up most of the sand, as they are washed out of local breeds.

In Puerto Rico, on the island of Vieques, surprises with its beauty and unusual red sand on the beach. The real hidden treasure of nature is Kaihalulu beach on the island of Maui (Hawaii). Here, too, you can see the dark red sand. Local rocks are rich in iron, which is the reason for such a rich shade. It is not easy to get here, since this picturesque place is extremely isolated and difficult to access.

What is sand?

Sand - this is a loose granular material covering the beaches, riverbeds and deserts of the world. It consists of different materials, differing depending on the location. The most common component of sand is silica in the form of quartz, as well as such rocks and minerals as feldspar and mica. Due to the processes of weathering (wind, rain, thawing, freezing), all these rocks and minerals are gradually ground and turn into small grains.

Tropical islands, such as Hawaii, do not have rich sources of quartz, so sand differs in these places. It can be white due to the presence of calcium carbonate, derived from shells and skeletons of marine organisms. Tropical beaches can also have black sand, which consists of dark volcanic glass. Surprisingly little is known about the origin of sand in the world's largest deserts. Studies show that the Sahara desert was once distinguished by lush vegetation before climate change turned it into a desert.

Such different sand

Why is sand in different parts of the world so different in color? Nature does not get tired of amazing everyone with its variety, including also extremely colorful sandy beaches, painted with iridescent shades: green, red, orange, pink, purple, brown, golden yellow and white. And on some beaches - black sand. So what is the cause of the difference? The answer lies in the depths of the geology of the entire coastline. Sand is fragments of rocks and minerals, such as quartz and iron, whose size varies from 63 microns (one thousandth millimeter) to two millimeters.

Sand in terms of geology

The geology of the surrounding areas largely influences the composition and color of the sand. For example, on the coast, consisting of a rock created by volcanic eruptions (granites), the sand will be more light. If a large part of the coast contains metamorphic rocks that have undergone folding and mixing with other rocks, which allowed them to increase the number of oxides such as iron, then the shades will be much more saturated.

When different rocks break up into grains, of which sand is composed on the beach, their color is mainly determined by the presence or absence of iron, a very common mineral on the Earth. When iron minerals are exposed to air, they begin to oxidize, and red, orange or yellow sand is obtained. Sometimes the color depends not only on geological rocks. It is influenced by organisms living in water. Some beaches consist of the smallest fragments of corals and skeletal remains of sea creatures, such as mollusks, crustaceans and foraminifera, which give the sand a pearly white hue.

Creation and color of the beach

Beaches can be formed in any place where the sea or ocean cuts into the mainland. For millennia, waves are blurring the coastline, creating flat spaces called beaches. These new expanses begin to accumulate falling sediments from the surrounding elevations, as well as eroded, ejected by the waves, remnants of the soil from the ocean floor. Coastal winds and storms are also involved in the creation of beaches. The color of sand in a particular place usually reflects the surrounding landscape and the shades of the adjacent ocean floor.

Due to its unique geology, Hawaii has so many colorful beaches that you will not find anywhere else in the world. For example, the coal-black sand of Punaluu beach is the result of volcanic activity. It includes basalt chips and is considered the blackest in the world. The white sand of the beach Hyams is named the most snow-white and clean in the world. It is so crushed that it resembles sugar powder. Located on the Hawaiian island of Maui, Kaihalulu beach is famous for being one of the few places in the world with iron-rich red sand.

A beach with black sand is a rarity or a common occurrence?

The most unusual are beaches with black sand, which is simply an amazing result of volcanic activity near the coast. Black sand can be seen on top of quartz in regions with high terrestrial activity, on the slopes of volcanoes and in areas where most rocks are dark in color and are poor in silica. Most of them are rich in iron, and by weight this sand is heavier than usual quartz. Why is the sand black? It can consist of a certain number of different dark minerals of volcanic nature.

Places where the beach with black sand is, are often the source of deposits of such precious stones as grenades, rubies, sapphires, topazes and, of course, diamonds that form in the vicinity of volcanoes and can erupt outward along with lava flows. Beaches with black sand can be found in Argentina, the southern Pacific Islands, in Tahiti, the Philippines, in California, Greece, the Antilles, Hawaii.

The world is full of beautiful beaches, and there is no doubt about it. And although most people would gladly agree to soak up the bright sun, lying on snow-white or golden sand, it is worthwhile to pay attention to other beaches, with sands of other colors of the rainbow.