Nauru
Sand Origin
Bondi Beach in Yaren, beach directly south of airport
Random Sand Fact
On Nauru, bird droppings became sand worth a fortune.
Over a very long time, seabirds left guano on the tiny coral island. Rain carried phosphate down into the porous limestone, where it became concentrated into exceptionally rich deposits.
Between the limestone pinnacles, much of the phosphate occurred as loose grains, from coarse sand to gravel.
Grain by grain, it was dug out and shipped mainly as raw material for fertiliser. For a time, phosphate made Nauru one of the richest countries in the world per person.
Most of the richest, easily accessible deposits are now gone. Today, bare, jagged limestone pinnacles stand across most of the island, where the phosphate once lay.
