Page 411 - Laboratory Manual in Physical Geology

Estuary Small
(Drowned river valley) saltmarshes
Headland
Small spit Tombolo
Wave-cut cliff
Stack
Wave crests

Tied island

Longshore current
Narrow
beach

Barrier
island Wind

FIGURE 15.3 Submergent (drowning) coastline features. A submergent coastline is caused by sea level rising (transgression), sinking

of the land, or both. As the land is flooded, the waves cut cliffs, valleys are flooded to form estuaries, wetlands are submerged, deep bays
develop, beaches narrow, and islands are created.

North
0 10 20 30 40

Scale in kilometers

Adria Adriatic Sea
Po River

Shoreline

Delta

Shoreline

FIGURE 15.4 Space Shuttle photograph of the Po Delta region, northern Italy.
(Courtesy of NASA)

Coastal Processes, Landforms, Hazards, and Risks ■ 379