Explore / North America / West
West, Hawaii
Hawaii
Papakolea green sand beach, Ka Lae
Crystal locality Documented siteProhibited, look only
What you could find
Reported finds from this ground.
Crystals and mineralsAlso reported: eyes-only: green olivine sand, tuff-ring bedding.
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Stephanie Clifford from Arlington, VA, USA (CC BY 2.0).
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Why this spot
Rockhounding locality: olivine crystals eroding from the Puu Mahana tuff ring concentrate as green sand near South Point on Hawaii island, one of a handful of green beaches on Earth
Olivine origin from the tuff ring is documented (Wikipedia); the mineralogy is real and so is the ban on taking it
Before you go
Hazards noted for this site.
hot exposed 4 km coastal walk with no shade or waterUnstable cinder cliff at the cove, powerful surf
unpermitted shuttle trucks worsen erosion
Keep exploring nearby
More spots in this area.