The Amazing Green Beach Made Out of Antique Semi-Precious Crystals
For those of you who are not certain what to choose between the blue of the sea and the green of the grass, in Hawaii, there is the best solution: Papakolea beach, an incredible green beach, so rare that it only exists in three other places in the world, Epoch Times reports.
The unusual olive green color of the sand is given by the high concentration of olivine, a mineral of magmatic origin that contains iron, nickel, and magnesium. Large and clear olivine crystals are prized as semi-precious stones and are used to create jewelry.
The "green crystals" of Papakolea come from Pu'u Mahana, a volcano that has not erupted for more than 49,000 years, located right across the beach in Hawaii. The erosive force of the ocean is what extracts this mineral from the rocks at the base of the volcano, thus allowing the olivine to "break" from the ash and reach the beach.
The timeless beauty of Papakolea beach is protected by its isolation: to reach this beach you have to walk three kilometers. But not only that, in order to tread on this precious sand, the Hawaiian authorities also imposed a small tax. A tariff that tries to protect its uniqueness.
