A beach can be divided into three regions; nearshore, foreshore , and backshore. The nearshore is always underwater, while the foreshore is that part of the beach extending from the mean low water line to the highest elevation reached by waves at normal high tide. The backshore encompasses the area landward from the water's reach at normal high tide to the maximum uprush during storms. Each of these zones is subject to different hydraulic conditions that are reflected in the geomorphological features present. The nearshore zone possesses asymmetric and lunate ripples and/or longshore bars . The foreshore is the most active part of the beach and usually has a steep slope. In the transition between foreshore and backshore, cusps may be present. The major forms of the backshore are berms , beach ridges , wind ripples, and washover fans .
Nearshore
Trask (1955)divides the nearshore zone into three regions: below 20 m in depth, a passive zone with little or no sediment movement under...
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Brenninkmeyer, B. (1982). Major beach features . In: Beaches and Coastal Geology. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30843-1_268
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30843-1_268
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