Kannonzaki beach is set in a natural environment that protrudes into Tokyo Bay and boasts of golden sand and crystal clear water. Marine terraces beneath the sandy beach represent past geological environments. The shape of the Kaannonzaki coastline is gradually changing due to erosion from waves and tides.
Geographic Overview
The Kannonzaki Lighthouse, originally built in 1869 as Japan’s first Western style lighthouse, was destroyed by an earthquake in 1922. The current third generation lighthouse was constructed after original and a subsequent version were destroyed by earthquakes in 1922 and 1923.
Sand Location
See where this sand sample was collected on Google Maps.
Virtual Sand Tour
Explore an interactive map of Kannonzaki Beach on Google Earth.
Sand Gallery
This mixture of light and dark sand grains are primarily angular with only moderate smooth edges indicating a relatively young beach in geological time. Geological components of this sand include dark basaltic grains and greenish gray grains. Tan and white grains as well as sand grains with red stripes and sand grains with tan stripes are fragments of mollusk shells, likely bivalves. A grooved light tan barnacle plate fragment is present at the upper right corner and a small red conical snail shell is present near the lower left middle of this view.
A mixture of biological sand grains stains out against a mixture of dark volcanic sand grains. A curved fragment of a green mollusk shell in the center is accompanied by barnacle plate shards with parallel grooves, white and off white fragments of mollusk, striped as well as reddish and purple marine fragments, and a small piece of green sea urchin spine toward the upper left of this view.
A pink and tan triangular shell fragment, smaller light colored marine fragment, and the conical tan and white mollusk shell stand out in contrast to gray and black igneous rock grains.
Black, mottled back and red, and mottle brown and gray igneous rocks are mixed here with lighter colored fragments of marine shells. A large mottled reddish and white marine fragment (upper left) and a purple fragment with linear grooves (bottom center), are accompanied by scattered relatively larger white, off-white, grayish white fragments of marine shells in this sample.
This low magnification of black, brown, white and tan sand grains reflects a mixture of geological and biological sand. The darker grains are geological while the larger lighter colored grains are biological shell fragments.
High magnification of image above. Black basaltic sand grains in this sample are accompanied by grayish-green and mottled red and black igneous rocks. These geological sand grains have irregular edges not yet worn smooth by wave action. A mixture of marine sand grains include a red and tan fragment of barnacle shell plate with linear grooves in the upper center next to a tan triangular marine fragment. A triangular white mollusk shell fragment with subtle linear striations is at the left edge of this sample.