The almost indescribable pale pink color of the sand comes from microscopic coral insects, known as Foraminifera, which have a bright pink or red shell full of holes through which it extends pseudopodia, footings that it uses to attach itself and feed.
Why Bermuda Has Pink Sand. Off the shore of Bermuda, tiny single-celled red organisms (Foraminifera) grow beneath the coral reefs. When these organisms die, they fall to the ocean floor and mix with bits of coral and crushed shell. The sand turns pink when this mixture washes onto the beach.
Pink sand beaches get their color from thousands of broken coral pieces, shells, and calcium carbonate materials left behind by foraminifera (tiny sea creatures with red and pink shells) that live in nearby coral reefs.
Pink beaches apparently get their color from foraminifera, which are microscopic red organisms that live in the coral reefs and get washed up on the beach. A pink sand beach in general is very rare, and there are only a handful of them worldwide. They're even rarer than black beaches.
Green sand is the rarest color of sand in the entire world. It's caused by a special type of volcanic eruption in which olivine crystals (which are green) are brought to the surface of the earth.
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.
The tan color of most sand beaches is the result of iron oxide, which tints quartz a light brown, and feldspar, which is brown to tan in its original form.
Bermuda. Bermuda is one of the only countries that can claim the plentiful amount of pink sand beaches. A favourite is Horse Shoe Bay Beach, located along the southeast coast of the main island.
Pink Sands Beach, Harbour Island, Bahamas
On the east side of Harbour Island, located in the Bahamas, the beaches are famous for their pinkish tint. Foraminifera (a small sea creature with a reddish shell) is responsible for the hue.
Generally, as zircon is the most valuable component and a critical ore component, high-zircon sands are the most valuable.
Most white sandy beaches are derived from granitic, or less commonly sandstone, geologies that weather to produce fine, frosted quartz sand grains. Interestingly, sands made from shell or coral fragments just aren't as white.
Pink Beach, Komodo, Indonesia
The waters are safe for swimming and snorkeling, but just use common sense (i.e. if you see a Komodo dragon, um, stay away).
Have you ever seen a beach with black sand? Because of constant volcanic activity, you'll find white sands and black sands on the island of Hawaiʻi. Located on the southeastern Kaʻū coast, Punaluʻu Black Sand Beach is one of the most famous black sand beaches in Hawaiʻi.
Basalt fragments
When lava contacts water, it cools rapidly and shatters into sand and fragmented debris of various size. Much of the debris is small enough to be considered sand. A large lava flow entering an ocean may produce enough basalt fragments to build a new black sand beach almost overnight.
Sand coloration depends on the parent rock from which the beach sediments have eroded. The parent material may be from a local source (eroded from a nearby bluff or cliff) or may be transported long distances; for example, Mississippi River delta sediments may be transported from Montana.
Lucky Bay, Cape Le Grand National Park
Lucky Bay in Cape Le Grand National Park is home to some of the whitest sand in all of Australia.
Australia is blessed with countless stunning beaches, but there has long been fierce debate over which locations offer up the whitest sand. Not only do white sand beaches look stunning, they are also usually a reflection of how pristine the local environment is.
The Hyams Beach is a beautiful Jervis Bay beach, located in New South Wales, Australia. According to the Guinness World Record, it boasts the whitest sand on our entire planet. The Hyams Beach sand it made up of microscopic quartz particles – tiny sand crystals that are almost fluorescent.
Seven Coloured Earths: Meet Mauritius' rainbow-coloured sand dunes. Seven Coloured Earths is located in Chamarel region, southwest of Mauritius. Seven Coloured Earths was formed due to years of volcanic activity.
Blue: Vaadhoo, Maldives
This color might be cheating, but it's no less spectacular for it. Bioluminescent phyto plankton around the Maldives occasionally washes up onto the shore, making the sand glow in the dark in a dazzling shade of aqua blue.
Sand beaches have different colors; white, black, red, pinks, and green. The color of sand refers to its composition, as well as the geology of the areas behind the coast. 1. White Sand is characterized by its pure ground quartz crystals, and by the absence of pollutants that cause paleness.
Sahara Desert Sand is a soft, neutral, veiled beige with a red undertone.
Egyptian Sand is a midtone brown color with slight gold and green undertones and part of our Warm Neutrals Collection.