Have you ever wondered where sand comes from? Why FL sand looks different from NJ or Hawaii sand?

Much of the sand on Florida beaches is made up of quartz crystals, produced by the weathering of continental land masses like the Appalachian mountains. The quartz is washed down rivers into the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico where it is carried onto the beaches by water currents and waves.

Atlantic beaches seem to have a greater diversity of sand types than the Gulf beaches. Shell fragments, fossils and organic matter give beaches different colors.

Ormond Beach and Daytona Beach have patches of sand look quite orange. It isn’t the sand that is orange but the coquina shell fragments that have absorbed the rusty color of iron oxide. You may have heard of Hawaii’s black or green sand beaches. These sands come from erosion of the lava rock that results from Hawaii’s volcanic activity. But Hawaii is not unique in having black sand beaches — many other locations (Iceland, New Zealand, Greece) also have these features.

Photos below are microscopic images of sand from various locations around the world.

Florida gulf coast beaches are almost pure quartz crystals, giving a beaches a white sugary appearance.

___________________________________

This sand is from Big Talbot Island, more shell and fossil pieces give the sand a darker color.

_________________________________

   On tropical beaches, like the Keys, Carribbean and Hawaii the sand is made up largely of calcium carbonate (limestone)grains from coral skeletons as well as remnants of biological organisms, including sea urchin spines, shell fragments and glass-like sponge spicules.

____________________________________________

This sand is from Plum Island, MA. It gets its pink color from garnet pieces.

______________________________________________

Star-shaped sand grains from Okinawa. These tine form, a type of protozoa, secrete beautiful star-shaped calcium carbonate shells or tests.