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• Beaches
– Shore built of unconsolidated sediments,
usually sand sized particles but can be
gravel, v.fine sand or silt
– Shape & size of beach dependent on
wave energy
– Beach slope is often a function of particle
size, coarser = steeper beach face
Coastal Deposition
• Spits
– Form by longshore drift of sediment
– Extend across mouth of bays & estuaries
• Tombolos
– Outward built beach connecting to an
island
– Island refracts waves away from beach
Fig. 15.14. Longshore
drift creates spits
Coastal Deposition
• Barrier islands
– Offshore islands parallel to shoreline
– Common on gently sloping coasts
– Separated from mainland by a lagoon
– Islands may migrate by
• Longshore drift parallel to coast
• Toward/away from the coast by sea level
change
Shoreline Evolution
• Shoreline evolution may be rapid
• Regional scale evolution occurs over
longer time frames
– Changes in sea level (what event?)
– Tectonic uplift or subsidence
• Utimately shorelines tend to develop
long straight or gently curved
coastlines; headlands are eroded; bays
fill up with sediment
Shoreline Evolution