UCSB Science Line
Sponge Spicules Nerve Cells Galaxy Abalone Shell Nickel Succinate X-ray Lens Lupine
UCSB Science Line
Home
How it Works
Ask a Question
Search Topics
Webcasts
Our Scientists
Science Links
Contact Information
Why is the sand on India's beaches yellow, orange, and pink? Is it because the sand was in the sun for too long? Or was it just like that? Thanks!!!
Question Date: 2013-11-04
Answer 1:

Wow! I've never seen India's beaches. They sound beautiful. The different minerals in sand give the sands their different colors. I got a handful of sand recently from a cliff that was an orange-brown color. And I have black sand and green sand, though the green sand is fairly close to black.

The minerals come from rocks, lava, shells, and corals.

I like this site, which tells about minerals in sand and their colors:

click here to see

I searched in that site for 'yellow,' 'orange,' and 'pink.' Yellow minerals were more common than orange or pink ones.

Keep asking questions!

Best wishes,


Click Here to return to the search form.

University of California, Santa Barbara Materials Research Laboratory National Science Foundation
This program is co-sponsored by the National Science Foundation and UCSB School-University Partnerships
Copyright © 2020 The Regents of the University of California,
All Rights Reserved.
UCSB Terms of Use