Bahamas
Sand Origin
Cat Cay, banks just south of Bimini
From the sand collector: “Our sand is oolitic aragonite sand that we harvest from the banks. If you look closely at the grains of sand, you will see that the grains are smooth and round.”
Random Sand Fact
In The Bahamas, sand grows in the sea. Then it is harvested.
In the warm, shallow water, small grains of aragonite, a form of calcium carbonate, take shape. Layer after layer builds around a tiny nucleus as the grains of sand roll through the water.
The sand grains are called ooids, from the Greek word for egg. They are often almost round or egg-shaped. Across the Bahama Banks, enormous quantities of this sand form naturally. It is commercially harvested and used as a source of calcium, including in agriculture and animal feed.
OUAW’s sand from The Bahamas was sent by a woman who works with this very sand.
