Collecting Sea Shells on the Carolina Coast

Ian C. Langtree - Writer/Editor for Disabled World (DW)
Published: 2008/12/15 - Updated: 2025/01/12
Publication Type: Informative
Category Topic: Disability Travel America - Academic Publications

Page Content: Synopsis - Introduction - Main

Synopsis: Information for hunting for sea shells along the populated beaches of North and South Carolina, USA. What tales the sands, shells, and seas can tell us about their adventures around the world. While people often find shells along the populated beaches of North and South Carolina, some places are still better than others for shell hunting.

Introduction

While people often find shells along the populated beaches of North and South Carolina, some places are still better than others for shell hunting. Also, timing plays a role in shell hunting, such as searching at low tide or after a storm. For example, during the summer of 2008, the Grand Strand beach renourishment project brought in many deep-water shells, pumped to the surface along with the fresh sand brought to strength the shoreline.

Main Content

What tales the sands, shells, and seas can tell us about their adventures around the world. Every minute of every day, the ocean's water moves the sand and shells around to a different spot, always moving. Most of the time we crunch over the top of these and think nothing about them. On occasion, something about the color or shape of a shell prompts us to bend over and pick up a colorful shell or oddly shaped piece of driftwood, but with over 700-1,000 species of shells and untold numbers of grains of sand and other particles on the beach, trillions of items, we tend to take them all for granted. However, their stories are diverse and fascinating!

Some Places are Better for Shell Hunting

While people often find shells along the populated beaches of North and South Carolina, some places are still better than others for shell hunting. Finding unusual shells from these deep-water treasures at Cherry Grove or North Myrtle Beach or around Grande Shores Resort at 77th has been especially exciting this year. Other places to find shells along the Carolina coastline include:

• Huntington State Park
• Hilton Head
• Isle of Palms
• Sullivan's Island near Charleston
• Edisto Beach State Park (north end)
• Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge

Certainly, these are just a few, not all, of the prime spots, and many people love to find their own spots to keep secret for themselves!

Uncovering Secrets of Shore Side Resources

One way is by identifying shell names. Find a good reference book, web site, or CD. Once you know the name of something found on the beach, you can learn more about it from your sources.

One of the more common shells in the Carolinas is the turkey-wing shell. This washes up frequently on our Carolina shores and has been found as far south at Venezuela and east to Bermuda. Measuring just over two inches long and oblong in shape, with one side bulging out and the other side fairly straight, the shell usually has three or more colors (shades of red, rust, brown, chocolate, cream, white) in the shape of a bird's wings.

Popular Shells Include Keyhole Urchin or Sand Dollar

This animal lives in the shallows of the coastal area, burrowing under the sand for protection, and it feeds on algae and other soft food sources at the shoreline. The legend of the sand dollar links to the Christmas fable because some collectors believe that its markings symbolize the birth, crucifixion, and resurrection of Christ.

The lettered olive, the South Carolina state shell, is shaped a bit like a tube or roll with a smooth surface in a brownish-green-cream color. Not large (approximately 66mm in length and 20mm wide), the lettered olive has a low spire and no teeth. The gastropod who lives inside pulls his mantle flap over himself to seal the opening when threatened, so if you collect a lettered olive, first determine if the shell's inhabitant still lives there before taking the shell home. Certainly, the shell's occupant would prefer to be left there on the beach by the water.

Of course, finding sea treasures comes with responsibility, and with shells the responsibility is to ensure that the wildlife stays at the beach. Oftentimes, people collect the "perfect" sand dollar or shell, forgetting that it already has an owner, the sea creature who lives in it. Look carefully at the items in your collection bucket for movement, color variations, any difference between live or dead items. Sometimes an inhabited shell is hard to discern and not inclined to move around to tell you that he is there, so look carefully. Dead sand dollars, for example, are white or pale in appearance, whereas a living sand dollar is dull gray or brown and fuzzy. When in doubt, leave it at the beach.

Collecting seashells enriches our lives for many reasons, not least of which is their reminder of our walks along the beach to find them-endless summer. If you have collected Carolina shells, we hope they will remind you of our shores so that you will come back some day soon and see what new treasures have washed up on the sand.

Related Information

• Myrtle Beach and The Grand Strand, South Carolina: Myrtle Beach is inviting for visitors with a disability. Budget-priced condominium rentals to luxurious resorts, offer accessible rooms and facilities.
• Disability Accessible Attractions Myrtle Beach South Carolina USA: Information regarding wheelchair and disability accessible attractions in Myrtle Beach area South Carolina USA.
• Fishing at Cherry Grove Pier, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina: One group of 5 fishermen proudly boasted catching over 700 spots fish at cherry grove pier.

Author Credentials: Ian is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Disabled World, a leading resource for news and information on disability issues. With a global perspective shaped by years of travel and lived experience, Ian is a committed proponent of the Social Model of Disability-a transformative framework developed by disabled activists in the 1970s that emphasizes dismantling societal barriers rather than focusing solely on individual impairments. His work reflects a deep commitment to disability rights, accessibility, and social inclusion. To learn more about Ian's background, expertise, and accomplishments, visit his full biography.