Sand from Sunset Bay, Oregon

If you go to a paint store and ask for "sand" as a color, you will be shown many shades of brown. But because sand is a reflection of the geology and biology around it, sand can be many different colors. This sand from Oregon is a good example. Is this sand shades of brown? No! Why not? Because it is composed of a variety of rocks and minerals that weathered and eroded from the cliffs nearby. The red and pink grains are garnet, the green grains are jade, the black grains are magnetite, orange is jasper, and white is quartz.

Image Credit: Leo Kenney