Sandy beaches on Tenerife are unique and diverse, and furthermore, there are numerous aspects that make Tenerife attractive.
Tourist attractions, picturesque places, cultural activities, historical sights, a diversity in fauna and flora, exceptional orography, and a gigantic mountain in the middle of the island are the ingredients that magnetize the island. However, the climate tops this list, with its beach, sun, and sea being the key players. It should be clear that the coastline is not primarily a habitat for golden sandy beaches.
Beach tourists expect a beautiful and well-maintained beach that looks inviting, which is why local governments and the authorities make every effort to make these locations attractive. Additionally, replenishing the sand supply on the beaches is a constant endeavor since the attractive golden sand at the southern coasts near Los Cristianos and Playa de las Américas gradually disappears.
Golden yellow or yellowish brown
Sandy beaches on Tenerife lead a challenging existence. Beaches are losing sand, or in other words, beaches are eroding. This phenomenon is primarily due to turbulent coastal waters caused by “mar de fondo,” a windy phenomenon that brings larger waves ashore. As a result, beach sand is lost to the sea, and the beaches must be regularly replenished with fresh sand. It is not easy to spread blond or golden sand on a volcanic island, where black is the dominant color, to achieve beautiful beaches. The question then is, how does this beautiful sand end up on the beaches?
In this context, Miguel Bercerra, coordinator of ‘tourism and strategic projects’ of the Cabildo de Tenerife, explains that the southern beach enclaves are replenished by contractors who must follow the strict conditions of beach management. One of these rules is the color of the imported sand, which must be ‘rubia’ in Spanish, or blond in Dutch, and nothing else. Surveys show that beachgoers prefer golden or yellowish-brown beaches with a medium grain size, and it is precisely this type of sand that is not naturally found on the island.
Container transport
But how is ‘blond’ sand obtained? For this, we refer to the beach of Las Teresitas, where desert sand from the Western Sahara was imported. High quality and the right color, but these container transports are expensive! Therefore, a compromise is made by mixing African sand with Tenerife sand in such a way that the ideal color appears. Another method is to pump sunken and drifted sand back to the beaches, which is a lot cheaper, according to Miguel Bercerra.
The sand that needs to be mixed with Sahara sand comes from the excavation works in the port of Granadilla; the color of the excavated sand is exactly the color that matches the African sand, and mixing these two types of sand is relatively inexpensive. As an alternative, sand from Morocco and Mauritania is kept in reserve. The Cabildo maintains excellent relations with these two countries.
Beach without sand
To save costs, a self-sustaining system was created, and therefore, two mining areas were selected to ensure a sufficient supply of sand; El Sauzal for the dark sand and Santiago del Teide for the light-colored sand. Before the sand mining began, an ecological study was conducted to determine feasibility. Playa San Marcos in Icod de los Vinos was on the list of beaches that urgently needed fresh sand, and Playa El Camisón required 10,000 cubic meters of fine sand to shine once again.
Sand contributes to tourism
The island government is simultaneously looking for effective systems to prevent sand loss. Breakwaters are a possible solution, like at the beach of Las Teresitas, but more ingenious systems are also being explored. It is uncertain when these solutions will be implemented. Nobody can or wants to set a timeframe for this. That it will be executed is certain because the tourism sector largely depends on it.
The authorities are fully aware that the coastal areas and sandy beaches on Tenerife are major attractions that keep the tourism economy running. Therefore, these locations must not be neglected, is the motto.
More TRIVIA can be read [HERE]
Guy Devos © Photography
Sandy beaches on Tenerife ©
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