Geological discovery: the silver sand beach on the Venezuelan coast

Venezuela is a country rich in natural resources, and within that diversity there are beaches of golden, white, brown, pink and black sand, but there are very few references on silver sand, at least in my purpose to answer why the beaches of the coast of the state Vargas have this peculiarity I didn't find precise information; I had to resort to logic and a geologist to explain my finding.

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^{📷 The color of the stones helped determine what type of minerals this effect comes from in the sand.}

This country is recognized as one of the territories with biological, geographical and geological mega-diversity. Here we have a bit of everything: all the climatic seasons, a large number of endemic species in fauna and flora, unique terrestrial formations and more.

On my trip to Catia La Mar, It was where I made this discovery; specifically on the Playa del Circulo Militar de Mamo, a place quite frequented by tourists, although it seems that this special shine in the sand is not the main attraction of the place.

In the distance that beach seemed to have the same characteristics of the common beaches of Venezuela, but when I began to walk on the sand the sun began to be reflected intensely in tiny silvery sheets; I was witnessing something I had never seen.

^{📷 The littoral is the only area with the platinum aspect, while the land extensions with which it borders have a normal appearance.}

When arriving at the beach the sun was in the zenith, but as it fell, the platinum effect also diminished; the less light the more opaque the sand was. I also noticed that the effect was greater in the wet sand, where those silvered sheets stuck to my feet.

I was so fascinated with that discovery that I began to ask myself theories about the origin of this sand; I was sure that it was the process of erosion of some mineral, even fantasized that they were lunar stones.

✔️ The explanation

On the internet I didn't find specific references about silvery sand beaches, but I consulted the Colombian geologist Santiago Florez, who gave meaning to my discovery... which was only new to me.

It turns out that sand and silver stones don't come from the moon, on the contrary, they originate in the type of rocks that make up the soils of the Vargas state, such as igneous, gneissic granite and chlorite schist.

^{📷 Erosion and sedimentation are key natural processes in the formation of any type of sand.}

Thanks to the process of erosion, which transforms the soil, these disintegrated to the point of producing "micas", the silvery colored sheets that, by means of sedimentation, when mixed with the sand of the beach give it that platinum aspect .

These micas are formed of silicate, the largest group of minerals that make up the earth: alumina, iron, calcium and magnesium.

It is normal for beach sand to contain silicate mica, however, there may be special concentrations such as those found on the coast of Catia La Mar, and this is due to the predominance of bedrock (the greater type of soil on which the area was formed), which in this case could be the gneissic granite, since naturally it is this type of rock where the micas come from.

The color of the stones also helps to define what type of soil the sand comes from, or in this case the micas. For example, the colors that predominated in the rocks of this beach were gray, red and black, and even some had mixed these three tones, which made reference to the types of rocks that make up the soil of the Vargas state.

^{📷 Along with the igneous rocks I also found pieces of quartz, one of the main components of the sand.}

In conclusion, the process from which the silicate mica and sand come from is the same: the erosion of the rocks, the transportation of the remains through the air and the sea, and the sedimentation or accumulation of these on the coasts.

Once again nature surprised me with its power. A "phenomenon" that seemed extraordinary to me turned out to be a common process in the littorals, but the important thing of all this research is that I learned that the earth offers us shows through the most common means, and that motivates me to be more aware.

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📌 My native language is Spanish, sorry if I use any expression you don't understand, I try to translate the text as best as possible, but if you have any questions you can ask me.

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📣 All the photographs are of my authorship and were captured with a Canon Rebel EOS T2i camera and a Siragon Xtreme CX-5000.

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