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Name: Wyatt S
Status: student
Age: 8
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: 7/13/2004
Question:
Hi - the sea shells I have collected SINK in water - so how come so many shells wash up on the beach? If they START on the bottom of the ocean, how do they get picked up and put on the sand? Why don't they just stay at the bottom of the ocean?

Replies:
Currents bring them to the shore.

Nathan A. Unterman

If you have ever experienced being on the surf of a ocean, you know the force the wave action can bring. During storms and high winds, the surf becomes very powerful and can move anything lying on the nearby ocean floor. Shells can easily be swept up by these waves and are often deposited on the shore.

Steve Sample


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