In the islands of Jamaica there are different color sands, pink,white,crystal,and black why is this?
On Jamaica, and many other tropical islands, the beach sands are made of materials from several different sources, each having its’ own color. The pink is from old coral reefs ground fine by the force of waves. The white is the remains of mollusk shells such as clam, the crystal sands are generally grains of silica formed either from the erosion of quartz containing stone or the deposits of marine organisms that absorb silica from the sea water and create the silica crystals, and finally the black sand is primarily from the erosion of volcanic lava. The lava sand is very common on the islands that are the remains of active volcanoes.
On Jamaica, and many other tropical islands, the beach sands are made of materials from several different sources, each having its’ own color. The pink is from old coral reefs ground fine by the force of waves. The white is the remains of mollusk shells such as clam, the crystal sands are generally grains of silica formed either from the erosion of quartz containing stone or the deposits of marine organisms that absorb silica from the sea water and create the silica crystals, and finally the black sand is primarily from the erosion of volcanic lava. The lava sand is very common on the islands that are the remains of active volcanoes.
