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Recent Storms Have Helped Unusually Large Seashells Wash Ashore In NC

WUNC | By Celeste Gracia
Published November 4, 2019 at 2:14 PM EST
Recent storms have helped unusually large seashells wash ashore, including these two large lightning whelk shell found along the Cape Lookout National Seashore.
Courtesy of Cape Lookout National Seashore
Recent storms have helped unusually large seashells wash ashore, including these two large lightning whelk shell found along the Cape Lookout National Seashore.
Recent storms have helped unusually large seashells wash ashore, including these two large lightning whelk shell found along the Cape Lookout National Seashore.
Credit Courtesy of Cape Lookout National Seashore
Recent storms have helped unusually large seashells wash ashore, including these two large lightning whelk shell found along the Cape Lookout National Seashore.

Unusually large seashells have washed ashore at Cape Lookout National Seashore.

Volunteers at the visitors center found lightning whelks and knobbed whelks as large as 12-inches long over the weekend, according to park officials. Some are stained with color gradations that suggest they were buried deep in sediment underwater.

Recent storms, including Hurricane Dorian, have helped to bring the shells to shore, according to Cape Lookout Spokesman BG Horvat.

“When you have stronger currents and stronger waves and water that's coming up higher than usual, yeah, it can easily dig up a lot of these bigger and older shells that we're seeing,” Horvat says.

The shells could date as far back as the Pleistocene era, which ended nearly 12,000 years ago.

Horvat says scientists at the national park may do their own research to determine the exact age of the seashells, or they might bring in outside experts.

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Celeste Gracia
Celeste Gracia was born and raised in deep south Texas. She’s always loved to read and write, so when she discovered journalism in high school, she knew it was for her. She graduated from the University of North Texas. She previously interned at CBS News Radio in New York and Morning Edition in Washington D.C. She constantly craves cookies & creme ice cream and enjoys singing along to Broadway musicals.
See stories by Celeste Gracia