Beach:
This is the temporary veneer of rock debris on or along a wave-cut platform. It is by the sea waves that the deposition of rock flour is carried out.
Bar:
The long shore currents, tidal currents and the shore drift deposit rock debris and sand along the coast at a distance from the shoreline. The resultant landforms which remain submerged are called bars. The enclosed water body so created is called a lagoon.
Barrier:
It is the overwater counterpart of a bar.
Spit and Hook:
A spit is a projected deposition joined at one end to the headland, with the other end free in the sea. The mode of formation is similar to a bar or barrier. A shorter spit with one end curved towards the land is called a hook.
Tombolos:
Sometimes, islands are connected to each other by a bar called tombolo. These islands are referred to as the tied islands.
Coastal Wetlands
Flat and rolling marshy lands developed in the coastal areas of humid tropics are called coastal wetlands, which are generally formed behind spits or bars. Wetlands come in many different forms. They can be tidal zones, marshes, bogs or swamps among many other types.
Sabkha
Depositional coastal areas having a flat surface in the dry tropical zones are called sabkhas which are flat but barren coastal lands. Sabkhas have developed in the coastal zones of UAR (Egypt), UAE, Mexico, Baja of California (USA), etc. Sabkhas are also called as salt flats.
Coastal Wetlands
Flat and rolling marshy lands developed in the coastal areas of humid tropics are called coastal wetlands, which are generally formed behind spits or bars. Wetlands come in many different forms. They can be tidal zones, marshes, bogs or swamps among many other types.
Sabkha
Depositional coastal areas having a flat surface in the dry tropical zones are called sabkhas which are flat but barren coastal lands. Sabkhas have developed in the coastal zones of UAR (Egypt), UAE, Mexico, Baja of California (USA), etc. Sabkhas are also called as salt flats.
Role played by these landforms in the coastal economy:
- Beaches are an important tourist destination across the world. They are used for different types of recreational activities. Cliffs are also recreational hotspots and tourist destinations.
- Bars and barriers reduce the energy of waves until they reach the shoreline and protect them from being eroded.
- Wetlands provide several ecosystem services such as reducing erosion, recharging aquifers and providing habitat for several wildlife species.
- Ancient sabkha sequences are important oil and gas reservoirs, with dolomitized supratidal and subtidal sediments forming the reservoir
