Nothing more than a garbage dump between 1950 and 1967, California’s Glass Beach is now quite the tourist attraction.

The Glass Beach used to be full of garbage, glass, broken china, rusted junk, all reduced by an ocasional fire or two. Fortunately the people realized the error of their ways and decided to clean up the beach and let nature turn it into the beauty it is today.

The elements did their job, transforming the glass shards into shiny, colorful jewels that you could spend hours collecting. The state bought this beautiful piece of the world in 2003, and now the Glass Beach is a part of MacKerricher State Park.

via Los Angeles Times

photos by Christopher Reynolds