Extraordinary Black Sand Beaches Around the World

Forget white sandy shores and seek out these stark volcanic beaches instead.

Black Sand Beaches

True, white sandy shores are beautiful. But for our money, some of the best beaches in the world are pitch-black.

Typically formed by volcanic minerals and lava fragments, black-sand beaches are stark and striking, often appearing as if they're from another planet entirely. Iceland and Hawaii are home to several of them, but they can also be found as far afield as New Zealand, South Korea, the Caribbean and beyond.