What is on the seashore?
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The seashore is where the land meets the sea. Some seashores have flat beaches, while others have steep cliffs. They are always busy with all kinds of wildlife.
How are beaches made?
Rocks are constantly broken off from the land by the sea and worn down into smaller and smaller pieces, making pebbles or sand. These are then dropped off along the shore by waves and a beach is gradually formed. Sand is also brought from inland by rivers flowing into the sea.
What lives under the sand on a beach?
Sandy beaches may not seem to have many creatures living on them at first glance. But if you look carefully you will see signs of life. Tiny holes, hollows and piles of coiled sand give away the hiding places of bristle worms, rag worms, cockles and burrowing starfish and crabs. Under the sand they are protected from the sun, predators and tides.
How does the sea shape the seashore?
Waves are constantly wearing away the shore and changing its shape. It hollows out caves and arches in cliffs.
What plants do you find on the seashore?
Algae and seaweed are the only plants you find on the seashore. Most plants do not like salt water and sea breezes.
Like rocks , seaweeds provide a cool hiding place for creatures while they wait for the tide to come in. Gently turn clumps of seaweed over and see what is hiding underneath.
What animals like beaches?
Seabirds, such as gulls, feed on dead fish and crabs washed up on the strandline. Wading birds use their long beaks for finding worms in the sand. Huge colonies of seals gather on beaches at certain times of the year to mate.
What is a strandline?
When the tide comes in, it leaves behind a long line of debris at its edge. This is called a strandline. People go beachcombing along strandlines, searching for pretty seashells, mermaid’s purses(shark’s egg cases), crab shells, driftwood and even useful rubbish.
What might you find in a rock pool?
Water is trapped in the hollows of rocks(worn out of them by the sea)
When the tide goes out, forming rock pools. They provide a home for many creatures. Starfish, anemones, limpets, periwinkles and mussels cling to the rocks,while shrimp, crabs and different types of fish shelter underneath them.
Some time arches,collapse leaving rock stocks.
Groynes, or breakwaters, are built on some beaches to stop the sand or pebbles from being dragged away by the sea.
Not all beaches have yellow sand. Howaiian beaches have black sand,formed from volcanic lava.
The Bermuda Islands have pale pink beaches. The sand is made from tiny pieces of red shell.
The dazzling white beaches of Barbados are made from tiny pieces of whie shell.
Internet link: whaletimes
This fun site is mainly about marine animals but also has information on sea science and ecology.
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