A bar is a ridge of sand or single that joins two headlands either side of a bay.

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A spit is an extended stretch of beach material that sticks out to sea and is joined to the mainland at one end.

Aerial view of Spurn Point from the mouth of the Humber Estuary

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Onshore winds (winds blowing inland from the sea) cause the formation of sand dunes at the back of a beach. Sand is deposited by the wind around an object such as a rock, forming embryo dunes. Over time, vegetation such as marram grass stabilises the sand dunes forming foredunes. As the vegetation around the foredunes decomposes nutrients are released and soil begins to form. A wider range of plants are then able to colonise the dunes.

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A sand dune is a small ridge or hill of sand found at the top of a beach, above the reach of the waves.

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The beach is the area between the lowest spring tide level and the point reached by the storm waves in the highest tides.

Find out more about landforms of coastal deposition.