![]() ![]() The spit separates the Sea of Azov from a system of shallow and brackish lagoons known as Syvash. The Arabat Spit is the longest spit in the world with a length of 112 km. Some Of The Most Famous Spits From Around The World If there is an island in the vicinity of the spit, and the spit grows in a manner that it connects the islands to the mainland, the connecting feature is called a tombolo. The part of the sea behind the bar is a lagoon. The newly created landform which is joined at both ends to land is called a bar. This process might give rise to an island.Ī spit might also continue to grow in length and join mainland at the other end. Giving Rise To New LandformsĪ spit might give rise to new landforms after a period of time.įor example, if the sediment supply to the spit is interrupted, the sand at the neck of the spit (the end towards the mainland) might be moved towards the head of the spit. ![]() The construction of roads and other developmental activities on bluffs that supply sediments for a spit might result in a lesser volume sediments being deposited and a consequent loss of the spit feature. This might destabilize the delicate habitats in the area. Human activities like farming or logging that increase the load of sediments deposited in a spit might adversely affect the intertidal environments surrounding a spit. ![]() Changes in the sediment source will thus affect the sediment deposition in a spit and either increase or decrease the size of a spit. The sediments usually arrive from sources like eroding bluffs and rivers. When waves arrive in an opposing direction to that of the waves creating a spit, it might damage, shorten or completely destroy a spit.Īny changes in the source of sediments that are deposited in a spit will also affect the growth and longevity of the spit. Several factors determine the longevity of a spit. Such habitat allows the growth of only salt-tolerant vegetation and often attracts birds to them. The water behind the spit landform is sheltered from wind and wave action, and this results in a salt marsh habitat. Vegetation starts growing, and the spit might also become a fertile landform in the future. Over the years, life begins to bloom on a spit. The process stops when water pressure, like that from a river draining into the ocean, is too high to allow the sediment deposition to continue to occur. The spit will also continue to extend into the sea but not indefinitely. Does A Spit Continue To Grow?Īs the longshore drift will continue to deposit sediments where the waves are breaking, the spit will continue to rise. The dissipation of energy renders the waves incapable of carrying a full load of sediments, and thus sediments are deposited in the form of a long bar-like feature off the coast or shore of the mainland. As the longshore current moves at an angle, and changes direction, the current spreads out and loses much of its energy. This usually happens in the case of a sheltered beach or shore like that of a bay or cove. Spits are usually formed when longshore currents producing a longshore drift strike the beach at an angle. The end jutting out onto the water is called the distal end, and the one attached to land is called the proximal end. It is connected to the mainland at one end. Coastal Landforms: What Is A Spit? Longshore drift has deposited sediment along the shoreline which has led to the formation of a spit, Sinemorets, Bulgaria What Is A Spit?Ī spit is a coastal landform, a stretch of beach material that projects out to the sea. ![]()
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