PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY Beach Formation in California coast Beaches are dynamic landforms altered by wind and waves in a continual process of creation and erosion. Seasonal cycles of sand deposition and loss dramatically affect the appearance of beaches from summer to winter. Wide and gently sloping in summer, they become steep-fronted and narrow in winter, and cam vanish overnight, stripped of sand by violent storm waves. Most of the sand removed from winter beaches is deposited …
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showed last 75 words of 1255 total
…been altered by the construction of offshore breakwaters, groins, and jetties, which may divert sand from one location to another and change beach slope. In a few locations large-scale beach nourishment projects have created wide beaches that may last several decades or more before eroding away, but not all coastal areas are suitable for such projects; even where these projects have been successful, this solution to the problem of beach erosion is costly and impermanent.