Have you been thinking about visiting a beach this summer? Maybe you have been thinking about where to go when the weather is good for a beach getaway. Maybe you are simply trying to decide whether or not to visit a beach. Whatever your reasons, if you do any type of research at all you will soon learn that there are many different kinds of beaches. These different kinds of beaches are broken down into several categories that include:
Beach Profile – A beach profile is the shape of the shoreline that does not have too much slope to it. A beach profile usually lies on a slope and has a length that is longer than its width. This is the most common shape of the beach. Beach profiles can be rocky, smooth or gradual.
Beach Nooks – A beach nook is a small depression in the beach that allows access by beach walkers to beach cabins, shops, restaurants, etc. Beach nooks are especially popular in long stretches of beach. Beach nooks can be found anywhere along the coast from a small island in Long Island Sound, Long Island, to Fort Wadsworth in Massachusetts. Many beaches have areas designated as a beach nook. Other beaches in the New England area are simply made into depressions along the coastline that make good landing spots for jet skis or other water toys.
Smooth Skirts – Also known as slick waters or white sands, these surfaces are flat and don’t have too many bumps in them. These types of surfaces are usually created by offshore currents and deep underwater grooves. Some of the best, smoothest sanded surfaces in the United States can be found in Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, Pines, Key West, and the surf communities of Southern California and San Diego. All of these sandy beaches will offer a wide variety of beachwear, from wetsuits to tropical beach towels, to everyday clothing items.
Coastal Sand Bars – These bars are places where sand is compacted together, but at different depths. When this happens, it becomes very similar to gravel, except it doesn’t have to be mixed constantly. This makes it great for windsurfers and kayakers.
Seagull Casings – This is a type of closure that is used on soft shell accessories like wetsuits, flippers, etc. Because the swash is in direct contact with the water, the material is more likely to wear down faster than other types of closures do. This allows for much more flexibility in how you can close your gear when the tide is high and the waves are large. These shells are formed by coastal erosion over hundreds or thousands of years. The sediment grinds against the shell creating tiny holes or cuts.
Storm Surf Potential – Every beach in the world is at least likely to have winds that are strong enough to blow sand from the beaches to nearby ocean currents. These currents can be strong enough to move larger amounts of sand in the ocean. If these storms hit the area often, the beach gets hammered by waves and washed out. This is a good time to head to the shore and check out the surf. This is another reason why so many beaches close out during strong winds.
Ocean Erosion – Because the motion of tectonic plates is consistent over millions of years, some parts of the planet get hit more frequently by tidal currents than others. These are areas that are regularly hit by strong tides. Many beaches in Southern California get hit during the central Pacific Ocean, but the fault lines in Northern California and San Francisco are hit fewer often, although the fault lines are located in the same trench. The same thing goes across the country. Since the Earth’s tilt effects everything, you can expect certain places to have more frequent or more intense ocean erosion than others.
Coastal erosion causes | beach | coastal erosion | coastal | sediment} Coastal erosion is not the only reason that parts of the country to close down. Certain parts of the ocean can become so salty that the marine life that lives there cannot exist. Certain kinds of rock are unstable, shifting and can break off. All of these things can happen when certain beaches are hit by severe storms. If you want to enjoy a nice, quiet beach day in Southern California without worrying about how the tide is going to erode the beach, head for the coastal erosion areas in Northern California.