Shell Beach Conservation Park

Countless tiny white shells have formed the amazing Shell Beach, which stretches for 60km. Some deposits are as much as ten metres deep.

Walk onto Shell Beach and marvel at the seemingly endless white stretch of beach composed of billions of shells. The beach is a good place for a cool dip. There is not much marine life to see but the kids can still have fun with a mask and snorkel.

Billions of shells

The animal whose shells are so readily seen—the Shark Bay cockle (Fragum erugatum)—is a burrowing mollusc enclosed in tiny bivalve shells a few millimetres long (less than 14mm long in Shark Bay). It is found only in WA and burrows into the sea floor in relatively shallow (between depths of 1.2 and 6.5 metres) areas of Shark Bay.

Shell block quarry

You can also visit the unique shell block (coquina) quarry near Hamelin Pool Marine Nature Reserve that is composed of the compacted cockle shells.

Shell Beach Conservation Park is easily accessible via two-wheel-drive from the Shark Bay Road.

For more information on the area, including itineraries and a virtual tour, go to

Shark Bay World Heritage Area

This information was provided by the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions: dpaw.wa.gov.au