Why is the Caribbean’s shade of blue so unique?

Many visitors say the color of the Caribbean is very different from every other beach they have visited. And they’re right.

But the Caribbean isn’t that shade of blue just to appeal to tourists. As a matter of fact, we could say Mother Nature took great pains to find the best colors for the Caribbean to look the way it does. Spoiler alert: it’s due to a happy accident.

The colors of the Caribbean have nothing to do with temperature or tourism, much less with the many water sports that take place in it, or the number of selfies it’s featured in.

Life in the Caribbean is much more complex.

As you may have learned in elementary school, light is white and fractures when passing through water molecules. While doing so, some hues (red, orange and green) are lost, and that’s why the oceans are predominantly blue and purple.

The more water there is in a body of water, the bluer it will seem.

That’s because there is so much water, it catches the rest of the hues. That’s why the bottled water you drink while strolling on the beach is clear, unlike the amazing Caribbean that stretches out into the horizon.

However, there are materials unique to each beach that contribute to its absorption of different colors of light: the seashells, algae and coral reefs all play a role in making a beach’s DNA different from every other.

The beach is a canvas, and nature paints it in its own way—but the Caribbean is truly one of a kind. Have you seen it for yourself? Make plans to visit and discover a shade of blue like you’ve never seen before.

 

 

 

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