Okinawa Star Sand. Taketomi Island, Okinawa, Japan Look closely, and youll see that the sands of this beach are very special. In fact, only two places on Earth are known to produce the tiny star-shaped grains of sand that make up Hoshizuna no Hama (Star Sand Beach). These unique grains are actually the pointy husks of millions of tiny amoeboid protists known as Foraminifera, or foram.. An estimated four thousand types of forams live in the worlds oceans. The shells, called tests, are made mainly of calcium carbonate, which the animals derive from carbon atoms in the air and water. Two beaches on the island of Taketomi feature the unusual sands: Kaijihama and Aiyaruhama. The other star sand beach can be found on the island of Irimote.
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 20:38:50 +0000
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