Shorelines Vocab

Beach

• usually rocky or sandy shore, usually by the ocean, in between high and low water marks

Wave

• long body of water curling into an arch and breaking on the shore

Abrasion

• the process of scraping/ wearing away

Wave Refraction

• involving a change in the direction of waves as they pass from one medium to the other

Longshore Transport

• the process in which sand and sediments move along the shoreline

Wave-cut Platform/Cliff

• (also known as coastal benches) the narrow flat area found at the base of a sea cliff along the shoreline of a lake, bay, or sea, that was created by the erosion of waves

Sea Arch

• natural arch/bridge made of stone that was created when water wears away the bottom of a rock, leaving just the top behind

Sea Stack

• a column of rock standing in the sea, remaining after erosion

Spit

• a deposition bar/ beach landform found off of coasts

Sandbar

• a long, narrow sandbank, found especially at the mouth of a river

Tombolo

• a bar of sand or shingle joining an island to the mainland

Barrier Islands

• a long, narrow island lying parallel to the mainland, protecting it from erosion and storms

Groin

• rigid hydraulic structure built from an ocean shore that interrupts water flow and limits sediment movement

Breakwater

• a barrier built into a body of water to protect a coast from wave force

Seawall

• a wall/embankment built to prevent the sea from eroding on an area of land

Beach Nourishment

• the process of dumping/pumping sand from another shoreline to create a new one on an existing beach