Southern Guam geospatial information serverBeaches in Southern Guam
Beaches are coastal deposits of loose sandy sediment. They are important natural habitats and some of Guam’s most beautiful scenery. In southern Guam, beach sand is a mixture of terrigenous (land-derived) sediments and and biogenous sand composed of disintegrated calcium carbonate shells of marine organisms. Observing this pepper-and-salt colored sand under magnification reveals that dark-colored grains are minerals eroded from rocks on land and light-colored grains are pieces of corals and calcareous algae, mollusk shells, echinoderm fragments, etc. Sand in some areas is largely derived from land. Beach in Talofofo Bay, for example, has parts of entirely black sand rich in mineral magnetite. Text above is slightly modified from "Environments of Guam" by Danko Taborosi, David R. Burdick, Claudine M. Camacho, Frank Camacho, published by BessPress, 2013. Maps:Use the menu to the right to view relevant maps. |