Ever Seen Green?

People are familiar with white sand beaches, golden yellow sand beaches and even black sand beaches. But have you ever heard of or seen a green sand beach? Well, it's just another one of the Big Island's unique treasures. Green Sand Beach is also called Mahana Bay. The reason for the name and the green sand is this: Lava flow from Mauna Loa, the nearby massive volcano, can contain olivine crystals, which are green in color. The area of the beach was the location of a pu'u, or cinder cone, almost a mini-volcano. The pu'u was named Mahana. After years of ocean waves pounding the cinder cone, it was eroded and the bay formed. This particular lava flow was abundant in olivine so the result was a green sand beach. Olivine crystals are heavier than others, so waves washed away lighter crystals that would have contributed a different color.

There are numerous signs around the beach telling people the obvious: please don't take green sand with you because if everyone did that, there wouldn't be any left. Of course there are selfish, disrespectful jerks who do. Maybe they are cursed by Madam Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of fire. Often people who take sand and rocks from Hawaii fall upon misfortune when they go home. Hotels and parks are swamped with boxes of rocks and sand that people send back because they think they are cursed.

After Peggy, Sara, Brian and I left South Point (see Brian and the Blowhole), we drove through a maze of rough four-wheel drive dirt roads to reach Green Sand Beach. After parking at the top, we had to follow a trail down the steep incline on the back of the bay to reach the bottom. The wind often blows pretty hard at this beach, but it wasn't bad when we were there. And it wasn't that crowded. I don't know if the picutures do the place justice. The green sand is remarkable. Below you can see the bay from the top and how it was eroded from a taller formation -- that's why there are cliffs on the sides. Sara had a pair of green sandals that blended in pretty well with the green sand. You can also see Peggy holding green sand in her hand. In the last shot, Sara is walking by the water's edge, looking down at the green sand.