As the tide comes in, for example, it deposits ocean sediment. Beach materials may travel long distances, carried by wind and waves. Huge boulders can be worn town to tiny grains of sand. The continual action of waves beating against a rocky cliff, for example, may cause some rocks to come loose.
Over many years, water and wind wear away at the land. Most beach materials are the products of weathering and erosion. Materials such as sand, pebbles, rocks, and seashell fragments cover beaches. A beach is a narrow, gently sloping strip of land that lies along the edge of an ocean, lake, or river.
