Encyclopedia of the World's Coastal Landforms

1529 Pages·2010·182.788 MB·English

by  Eric C. F. Bird M.Sc. (Lond. and Melb.) Ph.D. (ANU) (eds.)

Encyclopedia of the World‘s Coastal Landforms
Eric C. F. Bird
Editor
Encyclopedia of the
World‘s Coastal Landforms

Volume I
With 1379 Figures
123
Editor
Eric C.F. Bird, M.Sc. (Lond. and Melb.) Ph.D. (ANU)
Principal Fellow in Geomorphology
University of Melbourne
and
Director, Geostudies
343 Beach Road
Black Rock, Victoria 3193
Australia
[email protected]
ISBN 978-1-4020-8638-0
This publication is available also as:
Electronic publication under ISBN 978-1-4020-8639-7
Print and electronic bundle under ISBN 978-1-4020-8640-3
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4020-8640-3
Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg London New York
Library of Congress Control Number: 2009938922
© Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010
All rights reserved: Chapters 8.2, 8.15, 9.4, 10.1, 11.2, 11.3, 18.1 and 20.5
Every eff ort has been made to contact the copyright holders of the fi gures and tables which have been reproduced from other sources.
Anyone who has not been properly credited is requested to contact the publishers, so that due acknowledgment may be made in subse-
quent editions.
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Cover fi gures: Images 5084487, 5078544 and 5333716 from photos.com. © 2010 photos.com
Printed on acid-free paper
Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)
Preface
Encyclopedia of the World’s Coastal Landforms is an account of the various kinds of coastal morphology found on the
world’s coastlines. It is presented in 224 chapters, based on national, state, or county divisions, and arranged in a sequence
that proceeds counterclockwise around the continents. Th e sequence begins with Alaska, proceeds around North
America to Arctic Canada, then Greenland and fi nally, Iceland. Another counterclockwise sequence begins with Norway
and proceeds by way of Europe and the Mediterranean around Africa to India, Southeast Asia, China, Korea, and the
Pacifi c and Arctic coasts of Russia. Interruptions are made at appropriate points to include the Great Lakes, the Caspian
Sea, and islands such as Britain, Madagascar, and Japan. Th e sequence is completed with the Philippines, Indonesia,
Papua New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, the islands of the Pacifi c, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, and fi nally
Antarctica.
Th is work was preceded by Th e World’s Coastline, edited by Eric C. F. Bird and Maurice L. Schwartz and published
by Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, in 1985. An internet version was published by Kluwer Academic Publishers
in 2004.
Th is 2010 edition has also been produced with the aid of 123 contributors. It includes 1,379 illustrations and cites
numerous references. Th e focus is on coastal geomorphology, with accounts of features seen along the coastline, illustrat-
ing sites of special scientifi c interest. It provides access to the large amount of data that has been assembled, to ensure
that it will not just disappear over the next few years. It is now much more diffi cult for scientists to make broad coastal
surveys as they are required to specialise more, which usually means they work on small selected coastal sites . Th is book
will allow the scientists to place their work in a global context and make comparisons with similar coasts in other parts
of the world.
Coastal geomorphology has several interest groups. Some focus on the shaping of coastal landforms in relation to
geology, processes, variations in climate, and the relative levels of land and sea. Others concentrate on coastline changes
measured over specifi ed periods, with analyses of their causes. Others are interested in nearshore processes and responses,
particularly beaches, where morphodynamic models have been most successful. Others look to the coastal area for evi-
dence of Quaternary history, notably changes in land- and sea level and climatic variations. Others examine the sources
and patterns of movement of coastal sediment, or the array of physical-, chemical-, and biological weathering processes
in the coastal zone. Coastal managers want information on how landforms are changing, what processes are at work on
them, how they will change in the future, and what eff ects will result from the development of various kinds. Th e chapters
presented in this version of Encyclopedia of the World’s Coastal Landforms refl ect the interests of their authors, but an
attempt is made to serve the wide range of interests of coastal geomorphologists.
Th e work was designed initially for scientists needing to identify locations and distributions of coastal features and
to make comparisons between coastal landforms in various parts of the world. However, it will also be of value to people
seeking general information on coastal landforms in the various countries around the world, including those planning
travel and exploration of coastal regions. Armchair travellers can use it to make substantial journeys around the world’s
coasts, enjoying a succession of visual images. Indeed, it is unique in presenting the wide variations in scenery and envi-
ronment that occur on the world’s coastline.
I would like to thank Lew Ward for processing the edited material and illustrations. In assembling the work, I had
help from librarians in the University of Melbourne, notably David Jones, Map Curator in the Education Resource
Centre. In Black Rock I had assistance from Dr. Juliet Bird, and from Myriam, Audrey, Ingrid, and Céline Vinot.
Eric C. F. Bird
Geostudies, Melbourne, Australia
January 2010

Contents
Volume I
Editor .......................................................................................................................................................... xxiii
List of Contributors ......................................................................................................................................xxv
1.0 USA – Editorial Introduction ...........................................................................................................................1
Eric Bird
1.1 Alaska ................................................................................................................................................................5
Jesse Walker · Molly McGraw
1.2 Washington .....................................................................................................................................................15
Maurice Schwartz · Th omas Terich
1.3 Oregon ............................................................................................................................................................33
Paul D. Komar
1.4 California ........................................................................................................................................................43
Eric Bird
1.5 Texas ...............................................................................................................................................................53
Robert Morton
1.6 Louisiana ........................................................................................................................................................61
Ioannis Georgiou · Mark Kulp · Michael Miner · Duncan FitzGerald
1.7 Mississippi ......................................................................................................................................................69
Ervin Otvos
1.8 Alabama ..........................................................................................................................................................77
Ervin Otvos
1.9 Florida ............................................................................................................................................................83
Charles Finkl
1.10 Georgia ...........................................................................................................................................................89
Miles Hayes
1.11 South Carolina ...............................................................................................................................................93
Miles Hayes
1.12 North Carolina ...............................................................................................................................................99
Stanley R. Riggs
1.13 Atlantic Coast Central (USA) (Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey) ........................................107
Eric Bird
viii Contents
1.14 New York and New England .........................................................................................................................113
Henry Bokuniewicz
1.15 Great Lakes (USA) ........................................................................................................................................121
Mary-Louise Byrne
1.16 Hawaii ...........................................................................................................................................................125
Charles H. Fletcher · Eden J. Feirstein
2.0 Canada – Editorial Introduction .................................................................................................................133
Eric Bird
2.1 British Columbia ..........................................................................................................................................135
John J. Clague
2.2 New Brunswick and Nova Scotia .................................................................................................................141
Eric Bird
2.3 Gulf of St. Lawrence .....................................................................................................................................155
Eric Bird
2.4 Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon Islands ................................................................................................................163
Jean-Marie M. Dubois
2.5 Newfoundland ..............................................................................................................................................167
Eric Bird
2.6 Northern Canada .........................................................................................................................................169
Wayne Pollard
2.7 Great Lakes (Canada) ...................................................................................................................................177
Mary-Louise Byrne
3.0 Pacifi c Central America – Editorial Introduction .......................................................................................183
Eric Bird
3.1 Mexico, Pacifi c Coast ...................................................................................................................................185
Mario Gutiérrez-Estrada · Mario Arturo Ortiz-Perez
3.2 Pacifi c Coasts of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama ......................187
Anja Scheff ers · Tony Browne
3.3 Pacifi c Coast of Colombia ............................................................................................................................193
Iván Correa · Robert Morton
4.0 South America – Editorial Introduction .....................................................................................................199
Eric Bird
4.1 Ecuador .........................................................................................................................................................201
H. Ayon · W. Jara
Contents ix
4.2 Peru ...............................................................................................................................................................207
Vidal Taype Ramos · Eric Bird
4.3 Chile ..............................................................................................................................................................213
José Araya-Vergara
4.4 Argentina ......................................................................................................................................................219
Enrique Schnack · Jorge Pousa · Germán Bértola · Federico Isla
4.5 Uruguay ........................................................................................................................................................227
Eric Bird
4.6 Brazil .............................................................................................................................................................231
Dieter Muehe
4.7 French Guiana ..............................................................................................................................................239
J. Turenne
4.8 Surinam ........................................................................................................................................................243
Norbert Psuty
4.9 Guyana ..........................................................................................................................................................245
Eric Bird
4.10 Venezuela ......................................................................................................................................................249
L. Ellenberg
4.11 Caribbean Coast of Colombia .....................................................................................................................259
Iván Correa · Robert Morton
4.12 Caribbean Coasts, Panama to Belize ............................................................................................................265
Anja Scheff ers · Tony Browne
4.13 Mexico, Caribbean Coast .............................................................................................................................269
Mario Gutiérrez-Estrada · Mario Arturo Ortiz-Perez
5.0 Caribbean Islands – Editorial Introduction ................................................................................................271
Eric Bird
5.1 Cuba .............................................................................................................................................................273
Ridel Rodríguez
5.2 Jamaica .........................................................................................................................................................279
John Norrman · Tommy Lindell
5.3 Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic) ........................................................................................285
Anja Scheff ers · Tony Browne
5.4 Puerto Rico ...................................................................................................................................................289
Jack Morelock ∙ Wilson Ramirez ∙ Maritza Barreto
x Contents
5.4.1 Virgin Islands .......................................................................................................................................295
Maurice Schwartz
5.5 Lesser Antilles ..............................................................................................................................................299
Gillian Cambers
6.0 Atlantic Ocean Islands – Editorial Introduction ........................................................................................311
Eric Bird
6.1 Bahamas .......................................................................................................................................................313
Alan K. Craig
6.2 Bermuda .......................................................................................................................................................317
Eric Bird
6.3 Greenland .....................................................................................................................................................319
Eric Bird
6.4 Iceland ..........................................................................................................................................................323
Eggert Larusson
6.5 Other Atlantic Ocean Islands ......................................................................................................................333
Jim Hansom
7.0 British Isles – Editorial Introduction ..........................................................................................................345
Eric Bird
7.1 England and Wales .......................................................................................................................................347
Eric Bird
7.2 Cumbria .......................................................................................................................................................353
Eric Bird
7.3 Lancashire, Merseyside and Cheshire .........................................................................................................358
Eric Bird
7.4 Th e Isle of Man ..............................................................................................................................................361
Eric Bird
7.5 North Wales and Anglesey ...........................................................................................................................366
Eric Bird
7.6 West Wales ....................................................................................................................................................369
Eric Bird
7.7 South Wales ...................................................................................................................................................375
Eric Bird
7.7.1 Th e Severn Estuary ...............................................................................................................................384
Eric Bird
Contents xi
7.8 Gloucestershire, Somerset and North Devon ..............................................................................................386
Eric Bird
7.9 Cornwall
7.9.1 Th e North Coast of Cornwall ..............................................................................................................394
Eric Bird
7.9.2 Th e South Coast of Cornwall ...............................................................................................................401
Eric Bird
7.10 Isles of Scilly .................................................................................................................................................410
Eric Bird
7.11 South Devon ..................................................................................................................................................413
Eric Bird
7.12 Dorset ...........................................................................................................................................................420
Eric Bird
7.13 Hampshire .....................................................................................................................................................429
Eric Bird
7.14 Isle of Wight .................................................................................................................................................433
Eric Bird
7.15 Sussex ...........................................................................................................................................................438
Eric Bird
7.16 Kent ..............................................................................................................................................................443
Eric Bird
7.17 Essex ..............................................................................................................................................................447
Eric Bird
7.18 Suff olk ...........................................................................................................................................................450
Eric Bird
7.19 Norfolk ..........................................................................................................................................................454
Eric Bird
7.20 Lincolnshire .................................................................................................................................................459
Eric Bird
7.21 Yorkshire ......................................................................................................................................................461
Eric Bird
7.22 Durham, Tyne and Wear...............................................................................................................................466
Eric Bird