Minerals can make sand a variety of colours but is there anywhere I could go to see a blue or purple beach?

satguru

Blue is one of the most valuable colours of any mineral, a good sapphire is worth more than an equivalent diamond. Lapis lazuli is a lot cheaper as not crystalline, but not in the quantities to form a beach. Blue John is so dark I can barely see the blue in most of it and that's in Derbyshire. Purple is just as rare, apart from amethyst in places like Brazil you won't find many purple minerals, so I can't imagine what would create enough sand to form a blue or purple beach. Now black beaches from volcanic ash are not so rare! All I could think of is alum bay, in the Isle of Wight, which has a bit of every colour in the sand, but too many to have an overall colour dominant. Jun 23 04, 7:31 AM