When you go to the beach there are two things you will first notice; sand and water. But you never pay much attention to the water, but instead notice the sand. There are many types of sand, and beaches are also classified by the type of sand they have.
Let us define first; what is a beach? Merriam-Webster defines a beach as a shore of a body of water covered by sand, gravel, or larger rock fragments.
Sand is, Merriam-Webster defines; a loose granular material that results from the disintegration of rocks, consists of particles smaller than gravel but coarser than silt, and is used in mortar, glass, abrasives, and foundry molds.
Types of Sandy Beaches
- White Sand Beaches
- Pink Sand Beaches
- Red Sand Beaches
- Orange Sand Beaches
- Green Sand Beach
- Black Sand Beaches
- Sparkling Blue Sand Beach
- Purple Sand Beaches
Types of sand
| Coral sand | “Coral sand” has several meanings. Find out what it really is. |
| Volcanic ash | Volcanic ash is a fine mixture of minerals and rock fragments thrown out of a volcano during explosive volcanic eruption. |
| Glass sand | Traces of human activity are visible almost everywhere. Even sand may sometimes contain artificial fragments in quantities that justify the creation of a separate sand type. |
| Immature sand | Sand composed of the same minerals that made up its parent rocks. |
| Gypsum sand | A rare sand type composed of gypsum grains. |
| Ooid sand | Ooids are rounded pellets formed in a shallow wave agitated water. |
| Silica sand | Silica sand is almost pure quartz. |
| Black sand | There are two types of black sand. |
| Greensand | Greensand and green sand. What is the difference? |
| Desert sand | What are the characteristic features of dune sand? |
| Lithic sand | Sometimes sand is composed of tiny rocks. |
| Mixed carbonate-silicate sand | Some sand samples are mixture of organic and inorganic sand grains. |
| Biogenic sand | Sand may be composed entirely of tiny skeletons — sea shells, corals, forams, etc. |
| Garnet sand | Garnet is a common mineral in sand but sometimes it forms the majority of it. |
| Olivine sand | Olivine is very unstable in the weathering environment. Still, it is surprisingly common sand mineral in some regions and sometimes makes up major part of the sand. |
| Volcanic sand | Volcanically active regions have their own unique type of generally dark-colored sand with a characteristic mineral assemblage. |
| Heavy mineral sand | Heavy minerals are present in most sand types. However, they rarely make up more than few percent of it. Sometimes heavy minerals get concentrated enough to form heavy and usually very beautiful sand. |
| Sands with hematitic pigment | Hematite is the mineral that gives reddish color to desert sands and sandstone formations all over the world. |
| Continental sand | The name says it all. This sand is common weathering product of the continental landmasses. |
| Quartz sand | Quartz is the most common sand forming mineral. This sand type consists little else than this mineral. |
The most common beach sand is Silica sand. Silica Sand is quartz, that over time through the work of water and wind, has been broken down into tiny granules.
The second most common is Calcium carbonate. An example is aragonite that has been created for 500 million years by various forms of life, like coral and shellfish. It is better known as coral sand.
Whatever sand you land on, you may like or dislike sand sticking on your body. But for those who do not want sand to stick; there are Thermalabs beach blankets.
