Top 6 Beautiful Black Sand Beaches in the World

The attractiveness of beaches lies in the sapphire blue water, the beautiful golden sand, the curved horizons, and the mild breezes.

But what about the mystery of the sea beaches with foam-like waves hitting against the jet-black shores?

Definitely, all the black color lovers would surely find these black sea beaches a perfect place for backpacking.

These beaches are not only glorified with their black beauty but also are both geologically and economically important sites.

In this article, you will get to know the following points about the black sand beaches in the world,

Popular black sand beaches
Why do some beaches have black sand?

Let’s see each of these in detail…

Popular black sand beaches across the world

Some of the popular black sand beaches include,

1. Langkawi Black Sand Beach, Malaysia

Langkawi is one of the placers formed black sand beaches. Locally named Pantai Pasir Hitam, the beach has greater concentrations of iron oxides and the presence of mineral titanium.

The beach is beautiful with a staircase-like entrance.

Local women sell dresses, clothes, and accessories. There is a village nearby, there is a fishing jetty, and boats are moored near the beaches.

2. Kovalam Beach, India

Amazingly, you can find one of such placer deposits in Kerala itself. Along the west coast of India, large stretches of black sand patches are found.

These deposits are formed due to the west-flowing rivers of India.

The heavy-mineral suite consists of hornblende, tremolite-actinolite, opaque hypersthene, zircon, monazite, garnet, sillimanite, epidote, staurolite, apatite, etc.

During the southwest monsoons, the offshore and longshore currents are favorable in sorting the beach placer sands with heavy minerals.

3. Reynisfjara Beach, Iceland

It is the most beautiful and striking masterpiece of nature.

Not only because of the raven-shaded coast but it is the most remarkable beach famous for its various structural formations of the huge basalt layered rocks, hexagonal-shaped black columns, high rock cutting cliffs, stone arches, and basalt caves.

Iceland is also home to 130 such volcanoes, the most renowned is the Reynisfjara. Games of Thrones and Noah have been filmed in this popular place.

4. Punalu’u Beach, Hawaii

The beach is often spotted with green turtles and hawksbills. The swimming area can be dangerous as the area is too rocky. Many locals dive underwater because a lot of fresh water is found underwater.

The black sea is made exclusively of basalt from exploded lava particles

5. Black Sand Beach, Vieques, Puerto Rico

Vieques is a small island located 8 miles off the main island of Puerto Rico.
It is a popular getaway for the locals and tourists.

The beach is popular as the brightest Bioluminescent beach in the world due to its abundance of tiny dinoflagellates.

The Black Sand Beach at Vieques island is composed of granite and volcanic intrusives.

If you are wandering for solitude this 21-mile-long beach paradise is ideal for you to relax and have a laid-back lifestyle.

You can also spot wildlife here such as wild horses and roosters.

You can explore the unparalleled beauty of the breathtaking waterscapes and sceneries, and enjoy a pleasant tropical climate.

Moreover, You can also enjoy kayaking and electric boating on this beach.

6. Albay Beaches, Philippines

Albay is blessed with beautiful black beaches due to the abundance of volcanoes.

The jet-black color is due to the volcanic rocks and minerals.

Santo Domingo, Tiwi, Dauin, Bacacay are some of the famous black beaches in Albay, Philippines.

The contrasted cool blue azure water, the green trees, and the black beach, cliffs and sea stacks is a treat to sore eyes.

The exotic beauty of the picturesque beaches will rejuvenate your soul.

You can also enjoy water sports like kayaking, jet skiing, scuba diving, and many other thrilling activities.

A lot of unique water species can be spotted in the water such as the cuttlefishes, blue-ringed octopus, flamboyant, and many more.

Therefore Albay can be a perfect vacation trip for ideal relaxation and refreshment of your body and soul.

Other famous beaches are Samyang Beach, Korea, Black Sand beach in Alaska, Pai’ola Beach, Hawaii, etc.

The black sand beaches may be stunning but they can probe some drawbacks. The black sand gets extremely heated up during the daytime and causes blisters on the feet soles.

Why do some beaches have black sand?

The glittering black shades of the beaches are due to some specific reasons mentioned below.

1. Placer Deposits

The first reason behind the black color of the beaches is due to the placer deposits.

The black sands formed due to placer deposits have magnetic properties of the minerals that are partly mixed fine sands and have a glossy texture.

Larger waves deposit black sands concentrated with basically dark-colored heavy and economic minerals on the shores known as placer deposits.

Black sand deposits have minerals like tungsten, zircon, magnetite, thorium, titanium, augite, and high ferric content.

Various gemstones are even found in these black sands like ruby, topaz, and garnet, and are therefore a source of placer mining.

2. Black Lava

The second reason is the black lava that comes in contact with the ocean water.

A large lava flow when chilled with water breaks down into smaller fragments and much of the debris gets reduced to a small size of the sand.

The interaction of the basaltic lava deposits and seawater leads to the pitch-black sand consisting of the basalt fragments.

Deep seawater, every time it gets replenished and hits ashore, the beaches get enriched with black sand.

The local people face some genetic disorders due to the presence of heavy minerals. Mining is carried out on a large scale on these beaches leading to loss of livelihood and vulnerable marine species.

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