water’s end

A windswept rugged coastline, 47km of surf beach and rolling dunes of black sand characterise Muriwai Beach, making it one of Auckland’s most popular west coast beaches. Muriwai Beach is unique because of its black sand, caused by the iron content derived from the ancient volcanoes in the area.

Born of chiefly descent, Muriwai was held in the highest regard and was renowned for her wisdom and second sight. Muriwai originally settled in Ōhiwa, then moved to Ōpōtiki and founded what was to become the Whakatōhea tribe. She returned from Ōhiwa in later years to reside in the cave.

The district of Muriwai was formed 17 million years ago when volcano 1000 metres below the ocean surface started to form an island, which now forms the Waitakere Ranges to the south of the beach. Until the 1930’s the area behind the beach was mostly bare moving sand dunes 4-6 km wide.

“Muriwai has got the potential to be dangerous at any time, conditions can turn so suddenly.” Like all other west coast beaches in Auckland, Muriwai beach is dangerous and wild because of strong swells from the southern ocean.

Muriwai Beach is unique because of its black sand, caused by the iron content derived from the ancient volcanoes in the area. The majority of the black mineral sand is carried up the west coast from Mt Taranaki through the process of longshore drift.

black sand surf beaches

On Wednesday, Auckland Council announced its decision to close vehicle access to Muriwai Beach from December 23 until January 10, 2021. Vehicle access to Muriwai Beach will be closed from December 23 until January 10, 2021.

Piha, Auckland Auckland’s wild west is renowned for its rugged beauty; this is where the Tasman Sea’s mighty surf crashes onto vast black-sand beaches. The west is wild. Whatipu, Karekare, Piha, Te Henga (Bethells) and Muriwai beaches all have a remote, untamed beauty that’s good for the soul.

The snowy white sands of Parengarenga in Northland, for instance, are formed from quartz; while the golden sands of Golden Bay get their colour from the weathered iron (iron oxide) in granite. The black sand found on the west coast of the North Island, is made of titanomagnetite – a mixture of titanium and iron.

Punaluu Black Sand Beach

Why are the beaches black? New Zealand is a land of volcanoes, both active and inactive. Much of today’s land has been formed as a result of a series of volcanic eruptions. The famous black sand beaches that characterise our west coast exist thanks to an abundance of minerals: volcanic sand mixed with iron oxide.

The well known black sand beaches sweeping down the west coast of the North Island are the sites of New Zealand’s greatest known reserves of ironsand. This black ironsand was formed 2.5 million years ago from rock deposited on the coast by volcanic activity in the Taranaki region.

Quartz is a light-colored mineral, so your white sand beach will most likely have a lot of quartz in it. Darker sand comes from a number of minerals that are often denser and heavier than tan and quartz.

Hyams Beach

The Most Beautiful Beaches in the World:

• Tulum Ruins Beach.
• South Dune Beach.
• Mayflower Beach.
• Railay Beach.
• Marinha Beach.
• Baker Beach.
• Grace Bay Beach.
• Anse Source d’Argent.

Top 10 Most Beautiful Islands In The World

• 8 Bali, Indonesia.
• 7 Seychelles.
• 6 Crete, Greece.
• 5 Santorini, Greece.
• 4 Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.
• 3 Palawan, Philippines.
• 2 Bora Bora. Bora Bora is the most famous and most beautiful island in French Polynesia.
• 1 Maldives.

Siesta Key

Hapuna Beach State Park

9 Prettiest White Sand Beaches in the United States

• Pensacola Beach, Florida.
• Tunnels Beach, Kauai Hawaii.
• Kaanapali Beach, Maui, Hawaii.
• Coronado Beach, San Diego.
• Clearwater Beach, Florida.
• Cape Hatteras National Seashore, North Carolina.
• Orange Beach, Alabama.
• Carmel Beach, Carmel-By-The-Sea, California. Credit: Bigstock.com.

The cleanest beaches in the US

• Dauphin Island Public Beach, Alabama. Dauphin Island Public beach is known for its beautiful beachfront parks and clean sand.
• Long Beach City, Nassau County, New York.
• Newport Beach, California 38th St.

Grace Bay

The Cleanest Beaches In The World for a Clear Water Dip

• Victoria Beach, Canada. This beach is located next to Victoria Park and has all the essentials for a nice day out.
• Santa Maria Beach, Los Cabos.
• Dado 1, Israel.
• Mellieha Bay, Malta.
• Palmestranden Beach, Denmark.
• Zona Balnear da Lagoa, Portugal.

The Weddell Sea has been claimed by scientists to have the clearest waters of any ocean in the world. Described by a historian as “the most wretched and dismal region on earth”, due to the flash freezes that caught Shackleton’s ship, its clarity is only belied by the sheer depth of the ocean below.

The South China Sea and East Indies, eastern Mediterranean, Black Sea, North Sea, and British Isles are the most dangerous seas in the world, with the greatest number of shipping accidents in the last 15 years, according to a report released by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

Pacific

The following countries are said to have the cleanest drinking water in the world:

• DENMARK. Denmark has better tap water than bottled water.
• ICELAND. Iceland has stringent quality control, ensuring that they have a consistently high quality of water.
• GREENLAND.
• FINLAND.
• COLOMBIA.
• SINGAPORE.
• NEW ZEALAND.
• SWEDEN.

Bangladesh

the River Thames

state of Rhode Island