Mavra Volia Beach

**Because this area is volcanic — the pebbles are volcanic rock broken and polished by the sea.** ✅ **The origin**: southern Chios has old **volcanic formations**, and their rock is **dark** because it is rich in iron and magnesium (basaltic in character) — **unlike the white limestone** that dominates most of Greece. ✅ **The formation**: waves break down the dark cliff, **then roll the fragments against one another** for thousands of years until they become **smooth, round and glossy** — and that rolling polish is what gives the pebbles their sheen. ✅ **Why pebbles and not sand**: **sand takes longer** and a particular wave energy; this is a relatively young, exposed coast, **so the breakdown has not yet reached sand**. ✅ **The effect on the water**: **no silt or sand is stirred up**, so it stays perfectly clear even in swell; **and the dark bed absorbs light**, making the blue look deeper and darker than on a sandy beach. ⚠ **The effect on you**: they get very hot, they hurt bare feet, **and the depth starts at once** — because pebbles build no shallow shelf.