Orient Beach & Montauk Beach
Ages ago, what is now New England and New York State was covered by the great Wisconsin glacier. About ten thousand years ago the glaciers melted leaving behind sand, rock and soil...
Tikchik River
The Tikchik River is located within Wood-Tikchik State Park, the largest state park in the United States. The sand here is a mixture of variably sized dark grayish-tan sand grains...
Kaloko-Homokohau National Park
A mixture of dark and white sand grains present a colorful view of the diverse sand at Kaloko-Honokohau beach. Dark red and black porphyritic volcanic grains and varied colored sea urchin spine fragments...
Trunk Bay Beach
A variety of organic sand grains including red foraminifera (forams), a clear triangular sponge spicule in the center, short rods of calcareous algae, and bits and pieces of coral...
Little Lameshur Bay
Only 9 miles long and 2 miles wide, St. John boasts of lush emerald mountains, hills and valleys without many flat areas, and soft white coral sands on numerous near-deserted tranquil beaches...
Little Cinnamon Bay
Although St. John is a volcanic island and part of a submarine mountain range extending from Cuba to Trinidad, sand on recreational beaches is primarily biogenic. This beach sand...
Honeymoon Beach
A sand mixture of calcified algae, coral fragments, bits of mollusk shells, and pale and red forams reflects the diversity of adjacent sea life surrounding this island. Most of these sand grains...
Hawksnest Beach
This mixture of white and tan sand grains includes grooved fragments of mollusks and fragments of calcareous algae and smoothly worn forams. The red grains are fragments of the foraminifera...
Hansen Bay Beach
This large mixture of sand grains is essentially of biogenic origin representing bleached coralline algae and fragments of coral with the exception of a larger dark grain of volcanic origin...
Francis Bay Beach
Among the larger sand grains are light tan and brown mollusk shell fragments. The black grain with thin vertical white stripes just below center is also a mollusk shell fragment while the smaller...