Whitehaven beach, Australia
Whitehaven beach is just one of many beaches in the the group of Whitsunday islands on the east coast of Australia. It is well known for it's fine, white, silica sand. The quartz-rich sand did not come from a local course as the rocks in the area do not contain large quantities of quartz. The sand drifted north along the Queensland coast, carried by prevailing sea currents and long shore drift, millions of years ago. Trapped by rocks and headbands, some sand accumulated to form the dunes of whitehaven beach. Over the years, sea levels rose and fell due to previous ice ages, causing impurities from the sand to be removed, leaving the sand fine and brilliantly white. The beach is also known as the shifting sands as each day the sand has been moved and displaced by the sea, so the beach looks different every day.
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