Barrier island

A long, narrow offshore island of sand or sediment that runs parallel to a mainland coast and shelters a lagoon or estuary from the sea.

Longshore drift: The transport of sediment along a coast by waves approaching at an angle. It moves sand along barrier shorelines and helps determine island shape.
Spit: A narrow ridge of sediment attached to land at one end and extending into water. A spit is attached to the mainland, unlike a detached barrier island.
Coastal protection: Measures that reduce damage to people, infrastructure, and land from coastal hazards. Barrier islands can absorb wave energy before it reaches mainland shores.
Assateague Island: A barrier island off Maryland and Virginia, known for shifting shorelines and wild horses. Its changing landscape illustrates barrier migration and the limits of fixed development.
Barrier rollover: The landward migration of a barrier as storms and rising water move sediment across it. Overwash carries sand toward the lagoon, allowing the island to migrate inland.
Tombolo: A ridge of sediment connecting an island to a mainland or another island. A tombolo joins landforms rather than forming a separate offshore barrier.
Hurricane: A tropical cyclone with sustained winds of at least 74 miles per hour. Hurricanes expose the limits of barrier islands as natural storm buffers.
Padre Island: A barrier island along the Texas Gulf Coast and the longest undeveloped barrier island in the world. Its length and protected sections show the scale of barrier-island landscapes.
Overwash: The flow of storm-driven water and sediment across a beach or barrier island. It transfers beach sand across the island and can build land on its back side.
Lagoon: A shallow body of water separated from the sea by a barrier, reef, or other landform. This is the sheltered water body that a barrier island commonly encloses.

Linked from 21 pages