Mozambique Beach, Atlantic beach on Santa Catarina Island, Florianópolis, Brazil

Mozambique Beach stretches 13.5 kilometers along Santa Catarina Island with white sand bordered by natural dunes and pine forests. The shoreline lies within a larger nature reserve that supports diverse coastal vegetation.

The beach was first called Praia Grande or Praia da Lagoa. The name Mozambique, used from around 1850, comes not from the African country but from the tatuíra crustacean, locally called moçambique, which is common on the sand.

The name comes not from the African country but from the tatuíra, a crustacean also called moçambique, common on the sand; the name has been used since around 1850. The left end of the beach, near Ponta das Aranhas and its islands, is where surfers ride the waves.

The beach sits about 29 kilometers from downtown and requires private transportation to reach. Few public facilities or commercial services are available on-site, so planning ahead is necessary.

The beach's name comes not from the African country but from the tatuíra, a crustacean also called moçambique that is common in the sand here. The name has been in use since around 1850. The beach lies within the Rio Vermelho Forest Park, a reserve of about 400,000 square metres where American pines predominate.