Shell Beach
Take a walk along a beach made entirely of shells.
Formed from billions of tiny shells, the aptly named Shell Beach is located 45 kilometres south-east of Denham in the Shark Bay World Heritage Area, not far from the Hamelin Pool Stromatolites. Shell Beach is one of only a handful of places on earth where shells replace beach sand in such a dramatic and picturesque way. On a still day, the ocean here transforms into a palette of the most intense greens and blues.
In the early 1900s, the shells were quarried and hard packed, cut into blocks and used to construct a number of historic buildings in the nearby town of Denham, some of which can still be seen today such as the Old Pearler Restaurant.
Why is it called Shell Beach?
This beautiful snow-white beach is made up of billions of tiny Shark Bay cockle shells up to 10 metres deep and stretching for over 70 kilometres. There is no sand, only shells!
Can I swim here?
You can! The water at Shell Beach is very salty (hypersaline), making it easy to float for those who aren’t strong swimmers - similar to the Dead Sea in Jordan.
Discover more of Shark Bay
Denham
Monkey Mia
Dirk Hartog Island
Hamelin Pool Stromatolites
Steep Point
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