Why are Hawaii beaches white?

The famous white-sand beaches of Hawaii, for example, actually come from the poop of parrotfish. The fish bite and scrape algae off of rocks and dead corals with their parrot-like beaks, grind up the inedible calcium-carbonate reef material (made mostly of coral skeletons) in their guts, and then excrete it as sand.



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Olivine Sand Sand of almost exclusively olivine grains is very rare, and Papakolea is one of only four green sand beaches in the world.

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Hawaii's ocean water is nutrient deficient. This is common in tropical areas with warm surface water temperatures. A lack of nutrients means there are fewer phytoplankton and algae in Hawaii's water, which makes it more blue.

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The Big Island Early in the year you might see migrating humpback whales offshore, and all year long the water is perfect for swimming, bodyboarding, and snorkeling, though as is true on most Hawaiian beaches, the surf will tend to be higher in the winter months and far gentler in summer.

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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.

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New South Wales, Australia As for the honor of the world's whitest sand? Well, it goes to the little-known beach at Hyam's Beach, on the shores of Jervis Bay in the Australia state of New South Wales.

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