Emerson Phillips
Sure, you know that sand is mostly made of fine particles of rock that have been eroded away from larger rocks in the ocean. However, sand found in the tropics is estimated to contain up to 85% fish poop from parrotfish.
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So… if you took a vacation this spring break to the tropics, we hope you washed your feet.
Parrotfish eat coral by scraping it away, and inevitably they bite off much of the limestone coral skeleton. It is this limestone that passes through their gut and pooped out as sand. On one reef alone, parrotfish can produce tons of white sand every year, and it is this soft white sand that forms a large element of tropical beaches.
Sand in certain parts of Florida contains parrotfish poop because the coral reefs off Florida’s coast have parrotfish living and feeding on the corals and algae.
Beach sand can be many different colors, as sand color usually reflects the types of rock found in the area.
The following types of sand can be found on beaches around the world:
1. Bright white sand – the whitest sandy beach is found in Hyams Beach in New South Wales in Australia, and it’s so bright you need sunglasses to look at it. Bright white sand is also found in the Maldives, along the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, and on many Caribbean islands.
2. Black sand – found near volcanic basaltic rock in Hawaii, some of the Caribbean islands, and some beaches in the Canary Islands.
3. Yellow sand – found on beaches in Europe. Made up of quartz crystals, which contain traces of iron, which is what gives it the yellow color.
4. Green sand – found on Papakolea Beach in Hawaii and on beaches in Guam and the Galapagos Islands. The mineral olivine gives the sand its green color.
5. Red sand – found in Maui, Hawaii and Prince Edward Island in Canada. High iron content gives these beaches their red color.
6. Purple sand – found in Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur, California. The purple color comes from manganese garnet, which can be found locally.
7. Pink sand – found in the Bahamas, and it’s stunning. Caused by red colored coral insects known as Foraminifera.
8. Rainbow colors – Rainbow Beach on Fraser Island in Australia has more than 70 colors of sand, due to a mixture of minerals in the region.
9. Brown sand – found on Rockaway Beach south of San Francisco, from the erosion of bluish-gray limestone that combines with volcanic greenstone found in the area.
10. Orange sand – found on Ramla Bay Beach in Malta on the island of Gozo, and at Porto Ferro in Sardinia, Italy. From orange limestone in the area.
