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[[File:Seashells North Wales 1985.jpg|thumb|Seashells of [[bivalve]]s and [[gastropod]]s from the shell beach at [[Shell Island (Wales)]]]]
[[File:Shell Beach Western Australia.jpg|thumb|A close-up of the beach at [[Shell Beach (Western Australia)|Shell Beach]] in Western Australia, which is composed entirely of [[mollusc shell|shells]] and fragments of shells of the [[cockle (bivalve)|cockle]] species, ''[[Fragum erugatum]]]]
{{other uses|Shell Beach (disambiguation)}}
A '''shell beach''' is a sea [[beach]] that routinely has an unusually large accumulation of [[seashell]]s washed up on it. Seashells are most often the dead empty [[mollusc shell|shells]] of [[marine (ocean)|marine]] [[mollusks]], but may also include [[Test (biology)|tests]] or shells of other kinds of marine animals. 

The majority of beaches in the world are primarily composed of rock particles such as [[sand]], [[Gritstone|grit]], [[gravel]], [[pebble]]s, etc, but in rare cases (including [[Shell Beach (Western Australia)|Shell Beach]] in Western Australia) a beach can be composed entirely of seashells, both broken and whole [[Valve (mollusc)|valves]].
 
One area in the USA that is famous for its shell beaches is [[Sanibel Island]] on the Gulf Coast of [[Florida]]. In South Africa, the beaches of [[Jeffreys Bay]] are famous for shells, as is the [[Sulu Archipelago]] in the Philippines.

==See also==
* [[Beachcombing]]
* [[Conchology]]

==References==
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[[Category:Beaches]]
[[Category:Mollusc shells]]
{{Source Wikipedia}}