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chamarel's seven coloured earth
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chamarel's seven coloured earth

By Sophie Kalagas
3 February 2016

Turns out, as well as idyllic seas and giant tortoises, Mauritius has got some pretty cool soil.

Mauritius is home to clear blue oceans and white sand that makes our togs jump into our suitcase of their own accord. Turns out, though, that as well as idyllic seas and giant tortoises, they’ve also got some pretty cool soil.

Take a visit to the village of Chamarel in the island’s south to see a natural phenomenon known as the seven-coloured earth. A conversion process turning basaltic lava into clay minerals has created a rainbow in the ground – and apparently, if you mix the different hues together, they’d eventually separate back into distinct layers. (Pretty cool, huh?)

Best viewed at sunrise, it looks a wee bit like someone has spilt a box of coloured chalk dust on the moon’s rolling surface.

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