Sand is perhaps the apex and symbol of the whole process in which the existence of the beach is involved. It is moved and shifted grain by grain in the displacement of its masses, lifted by waves, carried by currents, and set down again. Sand in the evolution of the beach is not a static material but an agent of dynamic energy, following out the motion of water and air, itself their product. Sand grains, which are of great age, have been worn down from rock and the mineral grains that make it up, to particles, largely of quartz, with some feldspar, that are sufficiently durable not to be reduced to the consistency of mud. The wind which moves the waves and is the ultimate cause of all beach movement, also may have a more important effect than water in abrasing and rounding out a sand grain. The action of grain against grain is more abrasive in the air than in water, which acts as a cushion. In any case a sand grain made of quartz reaches a nearly irreducible size after a long period of time. It might eventually be reduced to powder, but it is now protected by the grains next to it because of its small size and the film of water surrounding it. This water, held there by adsorption, is what makes it possible for tiny animals like nematodes and copepods to exist in such an environment. Pick up a handful of moist sand and it is heavy and relatively cohesive. Through a hand lens you can see the grains fall off in pearly clumps. On the other hand, dry sand is blown down the beach in its separate grains like rice, and sorted on different levels according to its weight and size. Each sparkling grain is an entity unto itself. It is easily lifted and moved by the energy of waves and currents and at the same time heavy enough in the mass to give beaches their malleable stability. A sand grain is a product of earth, with beauty, quality, and dynamic character, shining clear in eternal process. Sand has the strength and resilience needed to hold up against the violent tonnage of the waves, and at the same time to share in their employment. It is always being remolded into new shapes by the art of wind and sea, shifting restlessly, moving from age to age. What we call the inanimate not only has its weights and measures but also a wonderful proportion with relation to the forces that send it on. It has a going out that is as rhythmic in its way and as full of viable light as the migration of organic lives. V Dune Country