I remember hearing about the black sand beaches of Hawaii long before visiting Waianapanapa Beach on Maui’s Hana Highway.

Each cove was an adventure with walk through lava tubes to the waters edge and swimming caves.

When lava contacts water it shatters into sand.

Large lava flows can produce enough fragments to build a new black sand beach overnight.

Since black sand beaches are made by one-time lava events they can be short lived when storms wash the sand into deep water.