Why is beach sand different colors

Purple Sand , such as that distinguishing Pfeiffer Beach, in Big Sur, California, is because the hills around the beach contain manganese-agate-rich metamorphic rocks. The metal erodes as it is exposed to rain, and heads to the beach to give it its distinctive color. Black Sand forms near active volcanoes, and is rich in basaltic igneous rocks. Muriwai Beach, in Auckland, New Zealand, is one of the most popular black sand beaches, featuring a mixture of basalt, iron, titanium, and other volcanic materials deposits.

There are some less common beaches where sand formation does not rely on quartz, but a totally different ecological process. For example, the famous white sand of Hawai beaches is excreted by parrotfishfrom.

The fish use their parrot-like beaks to bite algae off of rocks and corals; they grind the inedible corals in their guts, and then excrete it as sand. The parrotfish can produce hundreds of kilograms of white sand annually.

Remember , sand is simply the product the erosion of the rocks rubbing each other under the action of the waves. So if the bottom of the ocean is made of black lava as in Hawaii you will have a good chance if the beach is an old beach that it will have a lot of black sand coming from the rubbing the lava rocks or sea shells under the action of the surf and the waves.

The sea shell also can be at the origin of a beach color. Sea shell are usually white and the million of small shell pieces coming from the erosion will give the beach its color.

I hope this answer satisfies some of your curiosity. Beach sand has different colors because there are many different minerals that make up sand. In California, our sand usually looks white because it has minerals like quartz and pieces of shells that are made of calcium carbonate.

Why have beach sands different colors? This element has been found to be present in the chemical composition of waters that run along the shores of beaches.

In most cases, when we see black beach sand it is usually due to manganese oxide. Manganese in general has a very high concentration on northeastern coasts because it is what creates the rustic orange color when mixed with water and oxygen. These are the three most vibrant types of beach sand and they usually contain some sediments that come from rocks like lime-stone and iron oxide.

When these are put underwater for a long period of time, they turn into rusty red sediment that winds up in the sand that makes up the beaches. These colors are not very common, but they sometimes do occur.

Usually, this is because of a type of algae that can be found in most oceans. These two colors usually have the same cause, which is a type of microscopic algae that grows in and around water. Usually, this alga is a plant-like organism that floats in the water and produces pigments called carotenoids. These carotenoids give it pink or purple colors which then show up as tiny specks in the sand. Represented exclusively by Greenlight.

Jump to Navigation. January 29, We are currently experiencing playback issues on Safari. If you would like to listen to the audio, please use Google Chrome or Firefox. Please note that archive episodes of this podcast may include references to Ask Science. About the Author. Dr Sabrina Stierwalt earned a Ph.