1. Sandy Beaches
A River of Sand

2. Beach Composition and Slope
Material in transit along the shoreline
Sediment that comes from the erosion of cliffs or nearby mountains is coarse in texture
Sediment from local rivers is finer in texture
Breaking waves move material perpendicular to the shoreline
Swash is the wave moving up the face of the each
Backwash is the wave running back down the beach
Small waves move sand up the beach face, swash is dominant (summer beach) steep beach face
Large waves move sand down the beach face, Backwash is dominant (winter Beach) Flat beach face, Trough and sand bar form

4. Long Shore Transport Waves usually approach the beach at an angle
Waves crash along shorelines more than 10,000 times a day
Waves hitting the beach push the sand at the same angle creating a zig zag pattern of sand movement
Erosional shorelines have well developed cliffs and tectonic uplift of the coast
U.S. Pacific coast is an Erosional shore, waves pound on headlands, undercut cliffs which collapse into sea
Southeast Atlantic and Gulf coasts are Depositional shores
Spit – ridge of sediment that extends from land into deeper water due to long shore sand movement
Barrier Island- Long offshore deposits of sand lying parallel to the coast, most of Atlantic and Gulf coasts of U.S.
Erosion of the North Eastern U.S. coastlines averages 2.6 feet per year
Beach starvation of sand can result from Human Activities such as damning a river that supplies sand to a coastline
Beach nourishment can be very costly and temporary

5. Long Shore Movement of Sand

15. Rip Currents created by Sand Bar

16. Rip Currents

17. Rip Currents