Why are there gravel beaches? In thousands of years of waves crashing on the beach shouldn’t all the gravel have become sand?

Question

Why are there gravel beaches? In thousands of years of waves crashing on the beach shouldn’t all the gravel have become sand?

In: 6381

Answer 1

Fresh material is constantly being delivered to beaches – shells from various animals dying, rocks from falling cliffs, or sediment from rivers. All of these take time to break down.

Erosion will also expose rougher layers from tide, wave, current and weather effects – some beaches are rocky in the winter with big storm waves stripping away sand, then sandy in the summer with smaller waves depositing sand.