East Beach ~ Barrier Beach

Physical Characteristics

How does the beach change over time?

The shape of the beach is in a continual fluctuation due to the change in the volume of sand altered by weather and tides. In calmer weather with regular tides, sand is gradually deposited onto the beach from sand bars out in the ocean. During depositional periods, sand collects up on the beach and berms may form.

During times of severe weather and extremely high tides, much of the beach may be eroded. The more energy a wave has, the more material it is able to carry away from the beach to bars out in the ocean. The sand is continually carried off of the beach by higher energy waves and gradually brought back by regular wave action. This shift of sand to and from the beach occurs continually, thus altering the shape of the beach often.