This sample comes from Waianapanapa State Park near Hana on Maui. The sands nearby are black because they're derived from basalt like that throughout the Hawaiian Islands. This sample has undergone weathering and oxidation that have turned the color much more red. The original basalt appears to have been vessicular; you can see the tiny holes in the microscopic image linked here.

Back to the index page for these images of sand

e-mail to Railsback (rlsbk@uga.edu)
Railsback's main web page