Page 24 - Curriculum Visions Dynamic Book. To close the book, close the tab.

24
Sand and shingle beaches
Some beaches are covered in marvellous fine sand. But others are muddy and some are made entirely of pebbles. It all depends on the waves.
A beach is a strip of land washed over each day by the tides. Beaches are mainly found in bays (picture ).
Most beaches are sandy, but some are pebbly. Pebbly beaches are called shingle beaches. A few beaches are gravelly.
Most beaches are made of pieces of rock that have been worn from cliffs. The colour of these beaches is normally similar to the nearby rocks. Some beaches in the tropics are made only of broken sea shells and coral. These are pure white. Some beaches are made of lava from volcanoes. These beaches are black.
G  A beach is mostly made of sand or pebbles. But you can also find many other materials, such as fragments of sea shells. This is because many creatures make the beach their home. Waves carrying pebbles smash shells into small fragments. For this reason, shells survive best on sandy beaches.
The way beach materials are sorted is shown on the diagram below.
Sheltered from storms
BAY
Fine sand
Sand dunes
Coarse sand and gravel
Fairly strong waves
Exposed to storms Pebbles
Strong waves
HEADLAND
Gentle waves
No beach