Aerial view of black lava beach, El Golfo, Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain

Ash meets splash. Black lava beach, El Golfo, Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain

On Lanzarote, part of Spain's Canary Islands, geology got carried away. Dark sand meets the Atlantic beneath cliffs streaked with ocher and rust, the handiwork of volcanic activity spanning millions of years. One chapter of this story arrived remarkably recently: between 1730 and 1736, numerous vents opened across Lanzarote, sending lava over dozens of square miles and burying roads, villages, and farmland.

The beach in the image sits beside El Golfo, a tiny fishing village on the island's western shore. The settlement borders Los Volcanes Natural Park, while boats, seafood restaurants, and crashing waves carry on as if this scenery were perfectly ordinary. Nearby, the famous green lagoon Charco de los Clicos occupies a partially collapsed volcanic crater linked to the sea through underground fissures. Its improbable emerald color comes partly from algae, bringing green water, black sand, and blue sea into one strikingly vivid frame. No filter required. El Golfo comes with its own color palette.