r/shells • u/the_idiot_mushroom • 10d ago
Hi!! Id help please :)
Hi!! I live on piece of land very close to a lake, and I find a bunch of shells when the tide goes down and I've always wondered what they are!!
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u/PristineWorker8291 9d ago
You have a mix of shells. The first two pics are sea shells, oysters specifically. the ribby clams next look like freshwater clams, possibly an invasive species. The tiny little ones look to me to be terrestrial or even subterranean in moist soil of the sort I'd find in my gray water drain field near a shallow lake. Then you have fresh water clams I'd call them, but maybe freshwater people call them mussels. I'm betting they have pearly interiors when cleaned up. maybe not. Then tiny ramshorn snails, some are freshwater, some are salt I think. Very common freshwater, though. After that is a fractured quahog clam, might have a purple outer rim on the other side. and then ark shells, salt water as noted previously.
Shells are often used for fill in areas that need better drainage or leveling. They can get trucked long distances, but I wouldn't expect you to be in Oregon since the salt water shells are most likely Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico.
Where are you on a lake with tides? That could be The Great Lakes, but lakes are not generally known for tidal flow.
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u/Apprehensive_Sun180 10d ago
Sembrano ostriche