Playa de Las Teresitas in Tenerife, Spain, is one of the Canary Islands' most famous beaches, but it's not a natural beach—it was made in the 1970s by bringing in 270,000 tons of sand from Western Sahara.

Playa de Las Teresitas used to be quite different from what visitors see today. Once upon a time, it was covered in pebbles and dark volcanic sand, and its waters were far from the peaceful haven they are now. Waves crashed harshly against the rocky shore, making it a treacherous place to swim.

Despite its dangers, it was the only beach close to Santa Cruz, as others were gradually disappearing due to sand being taken away by construction companies. Additionally, the expansion of the Port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife was encroaching on the shoreline, further altering the natural landscape.

In 1953, the leaders of Santa Cruz decided they wanted to transform Las Teresitas into a proper beach. It was a long process, taking eight years to come up with a plan and then another four years to get approval from the city council and the Spanish government. The first step was building a sturdy wall to shield the beach from strong waves. They also crafted a barrier in the sea to prevent the water from washing away the new sand they were about to add.

During the first part of 1973, a massive amount of sand was brought in all the way from the Sahara desert. It took a whopping five million bags, which equals about 270,000 tons of sand! This sand from the desert was spread out to create a beautiful beach that stretched 1.3 kilometers long and was 80 meters wide. Finally, on June 15 of that year, the beach was officially opened to the public. It quickly became a beloved spot for both locals and visitors alike to enjoy the sun, sand, and sea.

The Canary Islands often bring sand from Western Sahara to fix beaches and for big building projects. Sadly, a lot of this isn't done the right way.

ENACT Africa, a group that fights crime in Africa, says, "Taking this sand has many bad effects on Western Sahara and the people who live there." They explain, "Mostly, it helps Morocco's leaders and companies make money. It also hurts the environment, making the land look bad and hurting important nature areas."

Even though we might not realize it, sand is a resource that we don't have a lot of, and the world is starting to run out of it because we use so much for building things. One guess says that every year, the world uses 50 billion tons of sand—that's enough to make a huge wall that's 88 feet tall and 88 feet wide all around the planet!