Bay Beaches

Excerpt

The length of shore in bays, sounds, lagoons, and estuaries (here termed bays) greatly exceeds the length of ocean shore in many countries. Beaches are common in these bays, but they are often so small and isolated that they escape attention, except in populated locations. The definition of bay in relation to the open coast is somewhat subjective, and bays such as Monterey Bay, California may have wave-energy levels that are among the highest in the world. This discussion is confined to low-energy beaches that occur in mostly enclosed bays where the fetch distances for local wave generation are generally less than 50 km. The principal factors affecting the morphodynamics of these beaches are locally generated waves and wave-induced currents, but wind-induced and tidal currents play a role in morphologic change. Fluvial processes may become dominant at estuarine shores in narrow basins or tributaries. At the low end of the wave-energy continuum, other terms, such as stream bank, intertidal marsh margin, or bay bottom may be more appropriate than beach. …