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 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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