 The pink sands of the island | |
.svg)  Great Santa Cruz Island Location within the Philippines | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Santa Cruz Bank, Basilan Strait |
| Coordinates | 6°51′55″N 122°3′45″E / 6.86528°N 122.06250°E |
| Archipelago | Santa Cruz Islands |
| Adjacent to | |
| Length | 2.6 km (1.62 mi) |
| Width | 1.5 km (0.93 mi) |
| Coastline | 6.6 km (4.1 mi) |
| Administration | |
| Region | Zamboanga Peninsula |
| City | Zamboanga City |
| Demographics | |
| Population | Unknown |
| Ethnic groups | Bajau people[1] |
| Additional information | |
 | |
Great Santa Cruz Island is a small inhabited island in Zamboanga City in the southern region of the Philippines that is famous for its pink coralline sand.[2] The island, located 4 kilometres (2.49 mi) south of downtown at the Santa Cruz Bank in the Basilan Strait, boasts one of the pink sand beaches in the Philippines. The color of the sand comes from the pulverized red organ pipe coral from eons of surf erosion mixed with the white sand.[1]
The island started to become popular since the 1970s and early 1980s when it was frequented by German, Japanese and Italian tourists. Recently, there's an upsurge of tourists that has been recorded due to its rising popularity as one of a handful of Pink Sand Beaches in the World and is the only one in Asia. In 2017, it was recognized by National Geographic as one of the 21 Best Beaches in the World.[3][citation needed] [4]
- ^ a b "Pink Sand Beach". Zamboanga.com. Retrieved on 2012-04-12.
- ^ "Islands of Zamboanga City - Philippines". Zamboanga.com.
- ^ "21 Best Beaches of the World". nationalgeographic.com. Retrieved on 2017-01-18.
- ^ "Zamboanga City: the Great and Little Santa Cruz Islands". En Route by Ironwolf. Retrieved on 2012-04-12.