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

I wondered about this as well for a very long time. There’s a sign on a sand beach in Maine That explains the curious fact of why this sand beach exists in Maine where most of the beaches are rocky.

It said most gravel beaches are at northern latitudes. Sand is often made of crushed shells. Cold water dissolves more CO2 making it more acidic and dissolves away the sand.

This particular beach where the sign was placed received warmer water and thus the sand was preserved and able to accumulate on the beach.