Do you know Georgia’s official state seashell? It’s the shell of the knobbed whelk, a large sea snail common in coastal waters along the state’s seashore. Its beautiful, spiraled shell is a familiar ...

Delaware has a state bird, a state bug and a state fish. But until last year, there was no state sea shell. Then, 13-year-old Allyson Willis, a seventh-grader at Redding Middle School, came along and ...

Whelk sea shells get this stained look after being buried for extended periods in marsh mud. The resurface on beaches after the mud shifts closer to the sufact, says the National Park Service National ...

A version of this story was originally published in 2023. Before you hit the Jersey Shore this summer, it may be wise to think twice if you happen upon a massive whelk shell on the beach that your kid ...