Beaches, sand dunes, spits and bars.

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A sandy beach is usually formed in a sheltered bays, where low energy, constructive waves transport material onto the shore.

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Ridges are areas of the beach that are raised. The dips are water-filled troughs called runnels.

Ridge and runnels on Harlech beach, North Wales.

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

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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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