Sand is made up of small particles (between the size of pebbles and silt) of rocky material or shell. Wave action and currents move these particles and deposit them on the coast – forming sandy beaches.

Rock and Shells

Every sandy beach is unique, and the size and nature of the particles will differ – as will the slope and horizontal extent. Most sands are composed of a mixture of rock particles of varying size and colour and shell fragments. In some places the beach may be entirely made of bits of shell, and while this often make white sand other colours are possible. Pink Sands Beach (in the Bahamas) is an example of a beach with an unusual pink sand made from the shells of the Sea Strawberry (Homotrema rubrum) – a foraminiferan that lives on the reefs, while the white sand in the photo which illustrates this article is in the Outer Hebrides and is composed almost entirely of shell fragments.

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