Photos Of Beaches And Shorelines

The term 'beach' may refer to:
• small systems in which the rock material moves onshore, offshore, or alongshore by the forces of waves and currents; or
• geological units of considerable size.
There are several conspicuous parts to a beach like the penal ridge, all of which relate to the processes that form and shape it. The part mostly above water (depending upon tide), and more or less actively influenced by the waves at some point in the tide, is termed the beach berm. The berm is the deposit of material comprising the active shoreline. The berm has a crest (top) and a face — the latter being the slope leading down towards the water from the crest. At the very bottom of the face, there may be a trough, and further seaward one or more longshore bars: slightly raised, underwater embankments formed where the waves first start to break.