Stunning Sands Gallery: A Rainbow of Beaches

Black

black sand beach

(Image credit: Robert Roe | Dreamstime)

Punaluu Beach is the famous for its dark, charcoal black sand. Located on the Big Island of Hawaii, the beach gets its rare color from eroded black sand particles that were created by volcanic lava flowing into the ocean and then cooling. In fact, the sand is so special that it's illegal to remove any of it from the beach.

Remy Melina was a staff writer for Live Science from 2010 to 2012. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Communication from Hofstra University where she graduated with honors.