The sand at Punta Cana is made from tiny pieces of coral and shell, ground up over thousands of years by waves. That is why it feels so soft and looks so bright white - almost like flour. On the clearest days the water is so transparent you can see the sandy bottom even where it is several metres deep.
Colourful reef fish, sea turtles and starfish live in the shallow waters just offshore. Coral reefs a little further out provide shelter for hundreds of species of fish, making it a fantastic place to snorkel.
Coconut palms line almost every beach. They grow leaning over the water because their seeds float in the sea - a coconut can drift for months and then sprout on a new island's shore. The palm provides shade, coconut water to drink, and coconut flesh to eat.
The area around Punta Cana is also home to freshwater lagoons and mangrove forests just behind the beach. Mangroves are special trees that grow in saltwater with their roots poking up above the mud. They are nurseries for young fish and protect the shore from big waves.