beachrock

thumb|Beachrock along Réunion island seashore thumb|Detail showing fragments of coral and shells Beachrock is a friable to well-cemented sedimentary rock that consists of a variable mixture of gravel-, sand-, and silt-sized sediment that is cemented with carbonate minerals and has formed along a shoreline. Depending on location, the sediment that is cemented to form beachrock can consist of a variable mixture of shells, coral fragments, rock fragments of different types, and other materials. It can also contain scattered artifacts, pieces of wood, and coconuts. Beachrock typically forms within the intertidal zone within tropical or semitropical regions. However, Quaternary beachrock is also found as far north and south as 60° latitude.

== Overview == Beachrock units form under a thin cover of sediment and generally overlie unconsolidated sand. They typically consist of multiple units, representing multiple episodes of cementation and exposure. The mineralogy of beachrocks is mainly high-magnesium calcite or aragonite. The main processes involved in the cementation are : supersaturation with CaCO3 through direct evaporation of seawater, groundwater CO2 degassing in the vadose zone, mixing of marine and meteoric water fluxes and precipitation of micritic calcium carbonate as a byproduct of microbiological activity.