A beach is a landform that is located close to a body of water.
Some beaches are located by rivers, while others are found by the coastline, oceans, lakes, and seas.
Beaches are made up of tiny rock particles, sand, and other types of tiny rocks and shells.
Beaches are made by the waves or even by water currents.
Water current is water inside the ocean that goes from one place to the next place.
These water currents are made when the wind speed changes and when the temperature of the air and water change.
Current is what causes the water in the ocean to move around and around.
Sand is tiny rock particles that have been eroded.
When something is eroded it means that it is broken down into smaller pieces. Sand is made when the water rushes against rocks, pebbles, gravel, shingle, cobblestones, and even shells.
When this happens those rocks or shells break down to smaller and smaller pieces.
That is why you can see the sand that is very fine. This proves that a lot of erosion has taken place in that area.
Coral reefs help to make sand because there are so many coral reefs found in the ocean.
When coral reefs become eroded or die, they break down and they get smaller and smaller until they are as small as sand.
A tide is what helps to determine how the water at the beach will move. Tide is water that forms into humps and they move around.
The tides change based on what the sun and the moon are doing. Tides are formed by the gravity that the sun and moon cause.
Tides are attracted to gravity and as they move towards gravity, they move around and around the ocean.
Most tides go on a six-hour cycle so it means that the tide can be high for six hours and then low for six hours.
Waves happen when the wind moves across the water surface. The water molecules and the air molecules meet, and it causes friction. Friction is when motion is resistant when two things rub together.
When there is friction, the water molecules make energy, and this causes the waves to come.
Scientists define waves as an energy that is transferred.
When there is a wave in the ocean, it is called a mechanical wave because it travels through the water to move.
The water does not move with the wave, the water only moves up and down because of the energy.
When a wave goes a long distance through the ocean and is caused by storms, these waves are called swells.
A swell is measured by the top of the crest of the wave to the bottom of the trough of the wave. A swell is usually a smooth wave.
When you go to the coast such as the ocean, you will see a beach there.
The beaches are formed because the water from the ocean is continuously moving and the tides are always rising and falling. When this happens, the beaches are formed.
Some beautiful beaches are on our coastline and offer scenic views with Clearwater, cliffs, and coves.
We use them for recreational purposes, and we are attracted by the beautiful white sand beaches and clearwater. You will find marinas with boats and many people involved in different water activities.
Surrounding beaches, you can find different types of rock formations, caves, and incredible marine life.
Most beaches that are mostly sand are made up of silica.
Silica is a form of quartz which is a mineral. The formula for silica is Si02.
Some sandy beaches have brown sand while other beaches are full of white sand and you even find a black sand beach (like the image above).
The reason that this happens is that there are different types of rock sediments that are found at different beaches.
When lava falls into water, it cools quickly and is pounded into sand over time. If enough volcanic rock falls into the water, it can produce a black sand beach.
Some of these color sediments can be:
All beaches have different sizes of sediments.
When you want to know what kind of wave and wind energy that the beach has, looking at the size of the sediment can help.
When a shoreline is protected by a fence or a barrier, most of the sediments are smaller because the wind and the waves do not take away the small sediments.
When a shoreline is unprotected, the beach will have larger sediments and the smaller sediments are swept back into the water.
When a beach is steep, it means that there is a big chance that the waves are very high or that the wind is very strong. This means that the waves move in and out of the shoreline in a stronger way and they cause the slope to be bigger by wearing away the shoreline.
A beach that has a smaller slope means that the waves go to the shore quickly, but they go back out into the ocean slower and they leave material on top.
Since there are different types of beaches such as river beaches, lake beaches, and ocean beaches, animals and marine life found in the different areas can be different.
Here are some animals that are found on the beaches:
Birds are very known to live on and close to beaches. At the beach, the birds are able to reproduce, and they use the sand, rocks, and plants to make their homes and to lay their eggs. Birds are very important to the beach environment.
Animals such as the crab help to keep the beach clean from things such as worms, algae, fungi, mollusks, and more. They go into the water, but most crabs live entirely on the sand.
Sea turtles are found in every ocean in the entire world except the Arctic Ocean but there are only seven different species of sea turtles. The sea turtles use the beach to help them nest and to lay their eggs. If the sea turtle did not have the beach to lay their eggs on, then they would become extinct.
Seals use the beaches so that they can have babies, feed, and help protect them from things such as sharks.
Microfossils such as the Calcareous oozes are found all over the beach. There are so many of them and they have lived on the beaches for millions of years. Many of the microfossils include amoeba and other hard-shelled organisms.
The beach has many insects and worms that grow and live on the beach.
Some of these include:
Plants play a very important role in the ecosystem of the beach and can add to the breathtaking view.
Plants are the first forms of life that lived on the beach.
They grow their roots deep into the ground and they help the beach by:
Some of the plants include seagrasses, palm trees, mosses, and more.