Why does sand change color?

Sand is fascinating, complex and covers vast expanses of our planet. It can be soothing and soft and mouldable. Erosive and destructive. It is home to a multitude of creatures and provides endless enjoyment for kids and adults alike.

 

But why or how does it change color? What causes such drastic differences along our shores? How can one beach be pristine white and another along the tide of the same body of water be black or pink or blood orange? It has much to do with the surrounding landscape and the nearby ocean floor activity. These elements along with years of erosion and massive quantities of waves play distinct roles and give way to unusual and breathtaking sand landscapes.

 

WHITE:

Widely renowned as one of the greatest pure white sand beaches, the Siesta Key Crescent Beach in Sarasota, Florida boasts sand that is composed of 99% pure quartz. After flowing down rivers from the Appalachian mountains, the quartz granules eventually found their way to the shores of Crescent Beach. The bright white quarts sand is so pure, in fact, that the sand temperature stays cool no matter how hot the air temperature is.

 

(photo source found here)

 

RED:

Maui hosts a tiny beach of deep red sand in a small cove near Hana Bay. The iron rich landscape surrounding the bay give the sand it's red-black color.
 

(photo source found here)

 

The beaches of Santorini, Greece are also known for their red beaches, caused by the steep crumbles of iron encasing around the beaches.
 

(photo source found here)

ORANGE:

The amazing, rare orange sands in the dunes of Ramla il-Hamra beach in Gozo derive from volcanic deposits in the ocean floor of the Mediterranean.
 

(photo source found here)

 

OLIVE GREEN:

One of the rarest sand colors resides mainly on Mahana Bay in Hawaii, the territory of Guam, and the Galapagos Islands. The olive green sand finds its color from large qualities of lava that contains olivine, the mineral that forms the semi-precious gem peridot. Strong waves move dirt particles out to sea, while leaving behind the heavier olivine sand on the beach. People have even been rumored to find peridots among the sand!
 

(photo source found here)

 

 

 

PINK:

 

Fantastically pink beaches are among the most rare, only occurring near massive coral reef formations with tiny red skeleton organisms. The skeletons fall to the ocean floor when they die and gradually erode into small particles carried to shore by the current. The red skeletons mix with the sand and cause the sand to hold a pink tone.

A favorite example of pink beaches can be found in the Bahamas on Harbor island (although others can be found in Puerto Rico, Bermuda, Barbados, the Philippines and Scotland).

 

(photo source found here)

BLACK:
 

The jet black sands of Hawaii, Greece, Tahiti and Arentina are truly one of the most fantastic and dramatic beach getaway sights. These lava induced beaches get their bold, deep color from the volcanic activity that occurred near the coastline in years past, leaving the the sand with particles of cooled lava giving it a rich, dark tone.  

(photo source credit here)