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Our next-to-last day on the Big Island, Bob and I drove to South Point, the southernmost point in the United States.
Green Sand Beach is within walking distance. While we didn't find the actual beach, we found the sand it is famous for washed up along the shores nearby. The green color is derived from the cinder cone of Pu'u o Mahana which contains olivines, a semi-precious stone.
The colors aren't done justice in the photographs. The ocean is bright blue, the lava solid black, the sand a mixture of olivine green and crushed coral white and the land a deep terracotta. They are stunning in their contrast.
South Point is wide open grassland to the shoreline, there are a few shrubs and even fewer trees. Bob and I came upon this log, washed up many moons ago. It has since become a haven for wood bees, some the size of 50-cent pieces.
