Hawaii
Wow!
It doesn't get any better than this. Hawaii has green sand. What a great place for Popeye to kick back with some spinach.
Quit trying to be cute and just tell us where it is.
Okay. Green Sand Beach, also called Papakolea Beach, is on Hawaii, the Big Island. It is about six miles from Ka Lae, also called South Point.
What is this green sand? Glad you asked. Olivine. (No, Bluto, that's not Olive Oyl's sister; but it is a pretty name.)
Olivine crystals are left behind when other materials from a cinder cone (can you say volcano?) are washed into the ocean. When olivine is of gem-quality for jewelry, it's called peridot.
How rare are green beaches? Guam also has one, but apparently not as green, and some say the Galapagos does. That's it.
It's no picnic to get to Green Sand Beach -- depending on where you start, you've got to hike for miles or take a four-wheel drive. Some folks think it's easy getting there, while others just about pass gas in telling you how it awful can be. And there's no refreshment stand, so load up like a pack mule.
By the way, watch your step just in case Kermit is on vacation and has stretched out to catch some rays.
Quit trying to be cute and just tell us where it is.
Okay. Green Sand Beach, also called Papakolea Beach, is on Hawaii, the Big Island. It is about six miles from Ka Lae, also called South Point.
What is this green sand? Glad you asked. Olivine. (No, Bluto, that's not Olive Oyl's sister; but it is a pretty name.)
Olivine crystals are left behind when other materials from a cinder cone (can you say volcano?) are washed into the ocean. When olivine is of gem-quality for jewelry, it's called peridot.
How rare are green beaches? Guam also has one, but apparently not as green, and some say the Galapagos does. That's it.
It's no picnic to get to Green Sand Beach -- depending on where you start, you've got to hike for miles or take a four-wheel drive. Some folks think it's easy getting there, while others just about pass gas in telling you how it awful can be. And there's no refreshment stand, so load up like a pack mule.
By the way, watch your step just in case Kermit is on vacation and has stretched out to catch some rays.
Squish green
sand between your toes
The cove of Green Sand Beach
Timeout for geology. The ash/lapilli layers on this headland are the major source of olivine.
Is that you, Friday? There are pockets of green sand in other spots on the coastline. Prof. Bentley found this even greener sand in an unnamed cove.
You can catch his blog at http://www.nvcc.edu/home/cbentley/
You can catch his blog at http://www.nvcc.edu/home/cbentley/
All photos courtesy of Callan Bentley,
Assistant Professor of Geology,
Northern Virginia Community College
Northern Virginia Community College
Note: Depending on your computer, the sand in the photos may look very green or more on the olive side.