Best Sand

The Duinencross Koksijde is a prestigious cyclocross race organized annually in Koksijde, Belgium since 1969. It’s recognized for its challenging course incorporating significant sand sections within the North Sea dunes. This event attracts top professional cyclists and serves as a key World Cup rou...

The UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup Zonhoven is an annual cycling event held in Belgium. Notably, it’s one of the most challenging cyclo-cross courses globally due to the prominent De Kuil sand pit and demanding technical downhill sections. This race attracts elite professional cyclocross riders and provi...

The X2O Trofee Koksijde – Vlaamse Duinencross is a prestigious cyclocross race held annually in Belgium. It’s notable for taking place amidst the challenging North Sea sand dunes, creating a uniquely demanding course. The event attracts elite professional cyclists and provides a significant test of...

Sable Island Bank is a large shallow submarine bank on the Scotian Shelf off Nova Scotia, Canada, surrounding Sable Island. The bank's shallow waters make it a navigational hazard, and the area has been the site of numerous shipwrecks over the centuries. Sable Island itself, a crescent-shaped sandba...

Hexophthalma hahni is a six-eyed crab spider native to Southern Africa, notable for its close relation to the highly venomous recluse spiders and sand spiders.

Kootwijkerzand is a significant Dutch nature reserve located within the Veluwe region. It encompasses an expansive area of actively shifting sand drifts and associated heathland vegetation. This unique landscape is one of Western Europe’s largest of its kind. The site provides valuable habitat for s...

Frensham Common is a significant area of UK heathland located in Surrey. Designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, it features extensive sand heath and two historic medieval lakes. The common supports unique plant and animal life adapted to this habitat type. It's particularly valued by w...

The Common Sanddragon is a widespread North American dragonfly distinguished by its camouflaged coloration and its unique habit of perching directly on sandy shorelines.

Endemic to the southeastern United States, the Sandhill Clubtail is a dragonfly described by James G. Needham in 1903, primarily inhabiting sandy streams and rivers in Florida.

Westruper Heide is a nature reserve located in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, that has been legally protected since 1934. The preserve is notable for featuring one of the region's last surviving inland sand dune and heathland ecosystems. This sandy habitat supports specialized flora a...

The Sand Snaketail is a North American clubtail dragonfly, Ophiogomphus smithi, notable for breeding in flowing waters with sandy substrates.

Nemitzer Heide is a nature reserve in Brandenburg, Germany, notable for its expansive dry grasslands and sands that were formerly used as a Soviet military training area.

Scheldecross Antwerpen is a cyclo-cross race held in Antwerp, Belgium, near the Scheldt river. Its course is particularly associated with deep sand, repeated changes of surface, and technical sections that can force riders to dismount and run. Staged during the European cyclo-cross season, the event...

Bournemouth Beach is a continuous stretch of sandy coastline in Dorset, England, fronting the resort town of Bournemouth. The beach is divided into distinct zones by a series of wooden groynes and features a prominent Victorian pier that evolved from a wooden jetty constructed in 1856. It provides p...

Sphingonotus caerulans, known as the slender blue-winged grasshopper, is a band-winged grasshopper in the family Acrididae. Linnaeus described the species in 1767, and it inhabits warm, dry, sparsely vegetated places, including sandy, gravelly, and rocky ground across parts of Europe and adjoining r...

Lytechinus anamesus is a name historically applied to the white sea urchin; molecular work later treated it as a synonym of Lytechinus pictus.

Clypeaster australasiae is a species of sea biscuit, an irregular type of sea urchin in the family Clypeasteridae. First described by British zoologist William Elford Leach in 1815, these flattened echinoderms inhabit sandy substrates in the Indo-Pacific region. Like other sea biscuits, they are ada...

The Seaside Grasshopper (Psinidia fenestralis) is an insect adapted to coastal environments, typically found along the sandy shores of North America.

The Lettered Olive (Oliva sayana) is a marine gastropod mollusk found along the Atlantic coast from North Carolina to Florida and throughout the Gulf of Mexico. It inhabits sandy shallow waters, where it preys on bivalves and other small marine organisms by burrowing through sand. The shell features...

Andrena barbilabris is a solitary mining bee that inhabits sandy soils across Europe, where females dig deep nesting burrows and heavily prefer to forage on willow tree pollen.

Risby Warren is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in North Lincolnshire, England, notable for its rare acidic sandy heathland and unusual wildlife habitats.

Over-the-line is a three-player-per-side softball variant from San Diego's Mission Beach, where the annual world championship dates to the 1950s.

Hottentotta arenaceus is a buthid scorpion described by Purcell in 1902 and placed in Hottentotta, a medically important Old World genus.

The Scotch Bonnet is a medium-sized sea snail recognized as the official state shell of North Carolina, designated in 1965 for its distinctive grid pattern.

Clypeaster annandalei is a species of sea biscuit urchin belonging to the family Clypeasteridae, recognized in marine invertebrate taxonomy for its distinct morphological features.

Clypeaster amplificatus is a species of sea biscuit urchin in the family Clypeasteridae, first described by the American marine zoologist Alexander Agassiz in 1904.

Predatory Atlantic moon snail that bores through bivalve shells using a combination of acid secretions and its rasping radula to access the soft tissue inside.

Clypeaster aloysioi is a species of sea biscuit urchin in the family Clypeasteridae, recognized as a distinct taxonomic entity within marine echinoid classification.

Beach cricket is an informal variant of traditional cricket played on sand, frequently featuring modified rules like one-hand-one-bounce, and highly popular in Australia.