Photo by Tsuneo Yamashita / Getty Images

We’ve seen the magic of black sand beaches, even beaches with “popcorn sand“.

But how about star-shaped sand?

Three islands in Okinawa – Hatoma, Iriomote, and Taketomi all feature rare ‘sand’ which are actually exquisitely small shells from ancient protozoa. Mixed in with regular sand, the star shaped particles are unique to this precise part of the world, making them even more rare and special.

The Japanese term for the sand is “hoshizuna”, and is tiny but coveted, and protected by the residents of Japan. Another example of amazing natural phenomena.

Via Treehugger:

Photo by gyro / Getty Images

Photo by gyro / Getty Images
Photo by TokioMarineLife / Getty Images


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Author

Ben VanderVeen is the founder and editor of Moss & Fog, one of the web’s longest-running visual culture destinations. Since 2009, he’s been finding and framing the most beautiful, surprising, and thought-provoking work in art, architecture, design, and nature — reaching over 325,000 readers each month. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

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