Flat coast
A low-gradient shoreline where gently sloping coastal land meets the sea, often shaped by the deposition of sand or mud.
Longshore drift: The movement of sediment along a coast by waves approaching at an angle. It redistributes sand alongshore, building some sections while starving others.
Sediment: Loose particles of mineral, rock, or organic matter transported by water, wind, ice, or gravity. Sand and mud are the principal building materials of many flat coasts.
Coastal erosion: The wearing away and removal of coastal land or sediment by waves, currents, wind, or human activity. Erosion can narrow beaches and move the shoreline landward on exposed flat coasts.
Wadden Sea: A North Sea coastal region of tidal flats and barrier islands extending along the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark. Its extensive intertidal flats are a prominent example of a low-gradient sedimentary coast.
Wave refraction: The bending of waves as they enter shallow water and slow unevenly. It influences where wave energy concentrates and where sediment accumulates or erodes.
Coastal geomorphology: The study of landforms at coasts and the processes that shape them. Flat coasts are one shoreline form explained by this broader field.
Coastal management: The planning and actions used to manage coastal hazards, development, ecosystems, and resources. Its choices shape how people respond to flooding and shoreline change on flat coasts.
Sundarbans: A vast mangrove region in the Ganges–Brahmaputra delta of Bangladesh and India. Its low-lying deltaic shoreline combines muddy flats, tidal channels, and mangrove forests.
Tidal flat: A broad, gently sloping coastal surface exposed at low tide and flooded at high tide. It is a muddy or sandy flat-coast form shaped by regular tidal inundation.
Beach profile: A cross-section showing the elevation and slope of a beach from land to water. Its shape records the gradient and sediment movement across a sandy shore.