Malta

Sicily

Sicily

Yup, it's bound to be Gilligan's.

I'm kind of surprised about yesterday's answer. I really thought it would be farmlands. I added the sand to my guesses because not too long ago I was doing some research on how farmlands are being taken over by more and bigger highways, cities expanding, more housing communities, etc, and the building materials needed to produce all of this. And remembered reading about how much sand is used to produce these building materials. . But I think I read that sea sand is not used because of the shape of the grains. So I'm wondering about why beaches are said to be disappearing. Time to do some more research. . . . ..

Rusty

Believe it or not, the US managed to sell a ship load of sand to the Saudis. What! you say. This sand was for making mortar and concrete. The Saudi sand has been blowing around for centuries and the grains are polished smooth - no sharp edges or lumpy shapes. It does not make strong mortar and tends to fall apart, ergo, imported sand with sharps and graded sizes is needed to make strong mortar and concrete.