These beaches are rare, but certainly not impossible to reach. Ratchet your ocean vacation and Instagram game up a notch by visiting one of these 17 beaches made of black sand.
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Black sand beaches are created by the gradual erosion of lava and other volcanic materials, most of which are black or dark in color. The high mineral content of black sand may give it an alluring sparkle, while the presence of iron gives the sand a dense, heavy texture.
Olivine SandSand of almost exclusively olivine grains is very rare, and Papakolea is one of only four green sand beaches in the world. The others are Hornindalsvatnet in Norway, Punta Cormorant in the Galapagos Islands, and Talofofo Beach in Guam.
Swimming at Punalu?u is possible but be careful when going into the water because there can be strong currents at times. Bring water shoes if you have them because the black sand on the beach gets hot quickly in the sun and there are many rocks in the water that can be painful when stepped on.
One of the main highlights of Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur is the famous purple sand. Erosion of the cliffs above, which contain Manganese garnet rocks, is responsible for the incredible plum-like colors you see here.
Purple beaches are a phenomenon caused by the presence of a large amounts of almandine-pyrope garnet. or other purple minerals like manganese or rose quartz that have accumulated in the local sediment.