The most common visual picture of an idyllic beach is one with fine off-white sand and transparent azure-hued water. There may be rocks and rock pools, and possibly coral reefs that are teaming with colorful fish. Palm trees lining the beach also feature. But none of our 10 weirdest beaches fit this description at all. They are all quite different to the normal expectation of a beach, and all quite different to one another.
#10 Glass Beach in Fort Bragg, California
22 Stunning Photos of California’s Glass Beach by Alex Scola matadornetwork.com
One of the most famous of the world’s weirdest beaches, now known as Glass Beach, is in the Californian seaside town of Fort Bragg. It is beautifully colorful since it features smooth glass pebbles instead of sand. This is not a natural phenomenon, but rather a result of human dumping during the early 20th century. Closed for cleanup between 1967 and 2002, the sea did its bit, gradually wearing down what glass trash was left in the sand. Glass Beach, previously dubbed “the dumps” by locals, is now part of the MacKerricher State Park and a major tourist attraction.
#9 Punalu’u Beach on the Big Island of Hawaii
Punalu’u Black Sand Beach, Hawaii http://commons.wikemedia.org/ Photo: Diego Delso
Black as the ace of spades, this beach looks more like a tarmac or asphalt parking lot than a seaside location for paddling or swimming. The cause of the weird black sand is a volcano that resulted in lava flowing downhill into the ocean. Also known as Black Sand Beach, Punalu’u is a very rocky area, and it isn’t safe for swimming. The water is very cold and doesn’t look too inviting, largely because of its color. Nevertheless, it is home to endangered green turtles and hawksbills, and other marine creatures.
#8 Jokulsarlon Black Sand Beach in Iceland
Iceland’s Iconic Icebergs by Sarah Marino http://sarahmarinophoto.com/jokulsarlon/
The incredible black beach that flanks the Jokulsarlon Glacial Lake in Skaftafell National Park southern Iceland is a recently new phenomenon. Reputedly formed by global warming, the lake, now the deepest in Iceland, is the direct result of a huge glacier starting to melt in the 1930s. But what makes this beach really weird are the forbidding icebergs on two sides of it, and the enormous blocks of ice that can be seen glittering on the stark background of the black volcanic sand.
# 7 Hyams Beach in Jarvis Bay, Australia
The world’s weirdest beaches www.telegraph.co.uk Photo: ALAMY
In total contrast to the blacker than black Punalu’s Beach, Hymans Beach 180 km south of Sydney, is where you’ll fine the whitest beach sand in the world. This is one of Australia’s most pristine seaside spots and, as The Guiness Book of Records confirms, the sand really is weirdly whiter than white. Combined
with blue sunny skies, the white sand gives the sea an uncanny clarity, and makes it look like a watercolor painting. Better still, it is bordered by national parks, so there is always an abundance of bird and wildlife to see.
with blue sunny skies, the white sand gives the sea an uncanny clarity, and makes it look like a watercolor painting. Better still, it is bordered by national parks, so there is always an abundance of bird and wildlife to see.
#6 Pink Sand Beach in the Bahamas
17 Of The Most Unusual Beaches Around The World by Lina D www.boredpanda.com Photo: greenglobe.travel
Located on Harbour Island in the beautiful Bahamas, this incredibly pink-hued beach owes its unusual sand color to millions of tiny red and pink crustaceans known as foraminifera that have combined with crushed up coral and ground seashells over time. The foraminifera and other marine matter has also combined with the grains of off-white beach sand, giving the beach it rosy hue. This weirdly beautiful beach is nearly 5 km long and very safe for swimming. The outlying coral reefs also make it an ideal spot for snorkeling.
#5 Dusit Thani Maldives Beach
Maldives-blue sand Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/78546112@N00/11269034823/ Photo: Will Ho
Minute, tinier than tiny microscopic crustaceans known as “blue tears” in China, are responsible for the incredible glittering lights that seem to explode out of the sea at this very weird Maldives beach. The effect is beautifully blue, and much more profound when the waves are a little rough as
the bioluminescent ostracods glow when they are put under stress. The beach doesn’t always look like this – only when it’s very windy – says photographer Will Ho. “It was lucky for me to see such beautiful scenery.”
the bioluminescent ostracods glow when they are put under stress. The beach doesn’t always look like this – only when it’s very windy – says photographer Will Ho. “It was lucky for me to see such beautiful scenery.”
#4 Shell Beach in Shark Bay, Australia
Shell Beach Photo: australiascoralcoast.com
Located in a beautiful World Heritage Area, Shell Beach in Western Australia’s Shark Bay is exactly what it sounds like. Instead of sand, the beach is comprised of millions of mostly cockleshells that line the shore. It’s a long beach too, stretching for more than 120 km, with the shells having built up for so long, they can be found to a depth of at least 10 m. Weirdly the shells take on intense green and blue colors on windless days.
#3 Playa de Gulpiyuri in Lianes, Spain
The world’s weirdest beaches www.telegraph.co.uk Photo: ALAMY
This azure, weirdly wonderful tidal pool in Spain is an amazing place to take a dip. But strangely, it isn’t anywhere near the sea. Instead, incredibly, it is located about 100 meters from the Cantabrian Sea, with a maze of underground tunnels keeping it linked to the sea. In spite of its distance from the sea, the tidal movement of the water is strong enough to create small waves. Surrounded by rolling hills, Gulpiyuri Beach (or playa in Spanish) is small and only 40 m long, but it looks like any other ordinary beach, with fine-grained, off-white sand.
#2 Hot Water Beach on the Coromandel Peninsula, New Zealand
Hot Water Beach New Zealand Photo: www.boomsbeat.com
Most people go to the beach to cool off, but those who go to Hot Water Beach on New Zealand’s world-famous Coromandel Peninsula in Waikato (North Island) go there for the thermal hot springs. In fact you’ll normally find more people burrowing into the sand next to the sea, making their own hot-water pools, than swimming in the surf. The reason behind this weird phenomenon is an underground river that is naturally hot, that flows into the sea at this point.
#1 The Cave Beach in Algarve, Portugal
17 Of The Most Unusual Beaches Around The World by Lina D www.boredpanda.com Photo: Brunos Carlos
One of Europe’s most popular beach destinations, Algarve in southern Portugal boasts some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. It is also the location of one of the 10 weirdest beaches in the world, The Cave Beach near Lagoa. Part of the beauty of this beach, which is, quite literally in a limestone cave (or series of caves), is the fact that it is only accessible from the sea. There are boat trips to this beach that has become a major tourist attraction.
