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Is there really such a thing as a Green Sand
Beach? Yes, there is such a beach and it's called Puu Mahana. You can only find it on the Big
Island of Hawaii by traveling down the twelve-mile unevenly paved, single-lane road,
which voids any rental car contract.
For those who want to feel the sand between their toes make sure you have a good pair of shoes to walk in, sunscreen, sun glasses, a good hat that will stay on in the wind, plenty of water, sandwiches from a sub shop, a camera, bathing suit, and a towel. |
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How do you get down to the beach once
you make the 2 1/2 mile hike? On the south side of the bay, you'll see a trash
can that helps give you the hint of where to go down. In some
spots you will need to climb some, but nothing that is too
difficult. As you look down, you
can't help but to notice the cobalt blue sea reaching to a startling contrast
of the dark green sand. Then you will know why it was worth your time.
The small turquoise bay is the inner volcanic cone which is roughly 28,000 years old. Puu Mahana is a tuff ring type of volcano which was formed by the interaction of magma and shallow groundwater. The Green Sand Beach was formed during erosion as ocean waves crashed against the coast. The waves wore away the lighter grains of sand made of volcanic ash, leaving the denser olivine crystals behind to form the beach. |
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| The average grain size of this sand is about 2mm, qualifying this as very course sand. If you look closely you will see the beach is actually a mixture of green and black sands from the olivine and lava of the ancient volcanic cone. |  |
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| Kathy Boast has been capturing beautiful
Hawaiian images and taking photographs to be published for Aloha Joe
since 2000. Kathy sells her work on Oahu (check her website for
locations) and also online. Kathy has plans to start work on her first
book in the new year.
To see more of Kathy's work please visit her website at www.kathyboast.com. If you would like to purchase any of her beautiful Hawaiian photographs, send an e-mail and mention you listen to ALOHA JOE and you will receive up to a 50% discount on selected images until the end of 2004 just by mentioning the magical words, "Aloha Joe". |
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