Green Sand Beaches Are About To Blow Up Your Instagram Feed

@ezrakawika

By now you’ve seen black sand beaches, either in real life or on social media. Then pink sand beaches were in the spotlight, and now it seems green sand beaches are having their moment. We have to say we’re especially intrigued by green sand beaches — maybe it’s because they’re so rare. Well, get ready Instagrammers. You may be seeing more of these babies in your feed.

Before you Google “green sand beaches” and get confused by the results (they’re that rare), you should know that there are only four in the world. There’s one in Hawaii, another in Guam, one in Ecuador and one in Norway.

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So how does the sand on these beaches get its vibrant hue? Unlike traditional sand that washes away with heavy tides, green sand doesn’t because it’s denser and heavier, being made from olivine crystals (which are derived from lava!). Olivine crystals in their most natural form create peridot, which has that gorgeous light green color.

Even the small, less refined crystals naturally give off a muddy green color, making these particular beaches entirely unique to the rest of the world.

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We can definitely see these beaches becoming the next big trend, especially because the two U.S. beaches are (sort of) within our reach. Sign us up for a trip to these beautiful spots anytime.