What term refers to the material that composes beaches?

• A. Sediment
• B. Shore
• C. Backshore
• D. Foreshore

Answer: (A)

The material that makes up beaches is sediment—the loose grains and fragments formed by weathering and erosion of rocks, plus pieces of shells and other organic material, that are transported by waves, currents, and wind and deposited along the shore. Beaches are essentially layers of this sediment, and their texture depends on the grain size and how well the grains are sorted by wave energy. The foreshore, backshore, and shore are terms that describe where along the coastline the area sits relative to the tide, not what it’s made of. So sediment is the right term because it names the actual material composing the beach.