When we think of beaches we imagine blue water and white sands but on Hawaii's Papakolea Beach (also called Manhana Beach and Green Sand Beach) you can wiggle your toes in sparkling green sand! The green color is due to the presence of olivine crystals. Gem-quality olivine is known as peridot, the birthstone for the month of August.
Olivine is a common mineral component in Hawaiian lavas and one of the first crystals to form as magma cools. The beach is at the base of a cinder cone formed by an olivine-rich magma more than 49,000 years ago. As the cone gradually erodes, olivine continues to be released onto the beach. The olivine crystals are heavier than most sand types and remain behind when lighter sand grains are washed away by strong wave activity.
Green Sand Beach has the distinction of being the southernmost point of the United States. This beach is one of only two green sand beaches in the world. The other is in the territory of Guam.
Referred to in Hawaii as the "Hawaiian Diamond", olivine crystals are also called "Pele's tears" in honor of the goddess Pele, the goddess of volcanoes.
Green sand is rare on earth but NASA has also found olivine sand crystals in an out-of-this-world spot - in the icy comet Tempel 1!
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