The Seven Coloured Earths are a
geological formation
A geological formation, or simply formation, is a body of rock having a consistent set of physical characteristics (lithology) that distinguishes it from adjacent bodies of rock, and which occupies a particular position in the layers of rock expo ...
and prominent
tourist attraction
A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement.
Types
Places of natural beaut ...
found in the
Chamarel plain of the
Rivière Noire District in south-western
Mauritius
Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...
. It is a relatively small area of
sand dunes comprising sand of seven distinct colours (approximately red, brown, violet, green, blue, purple and yellow). The main feature of the place is that since these differently coloured sands spontaneously settle in different layers, dunes acquire a
surrealistic, striped colouring. Since the earth was first exposed, rains have carved beautiful patterns into the hillside, creating an effect of earthen meringue.
Description
The sands formed from the decomposition of
volcanic rock (
basalt)
gullies into
clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...
, further transformed into
ferralitic soil by total
hydrolysis; the two main elements of the resulting soil,
iron
Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...
and
aluminium
Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...
, are responsible for red/anthracite and blue/purplish colours respectively. The different shades of colour are believed to be a consequence of the molten volcanic rock cooling down at different external temperatures (hence rates), but the causes of their consistent spontaneous separation are yet to be fully clarified.
Name
The name "Seven Coloured Earth(s)" is a descriptive—rather than an official—name. Sources report many variations of this name, including "Chamarel Seven Coloured Earths", "Chamarel Coloured Earth(s)", "Coloured Earth", and ' in
French.
Phenomenon
This phenomenon can also be observed, on a smaller scale, if one takes a handful of sands of different colours and mixes them together, as they'll eventually separate into a layered spectrum.
Chamarel 7 Coloured Earth Official Website
/ref>
Tourism
The place has become one of Mauritius' main tourist attractions since the 1960s. The dunes are protected by a wooden fence and visitors are not allowed to climb on them, although they can look at the scenery from observation outposts placed along the fence. Curio shops in the area sell small test-tubes filled up with the coloured earths.
Gallery
File:Mauritius Seven Colored Earths 1.JPG
File:Mauritius Seven Colored Earths 2.JPG
File:Seven_coloured_earths_mauritius.jpg
Footnotes
See also
* Vinicunca
{{Mauritius-geo-stub
Landforms of Mauritius
Tourist attractions in Mauritius