Figure 1. Storm waves striking a Florida coast. Planned use of the coastal zone must in- 

 clude protection against the flooding and erosion effects of storms. (U.S. Weather Bureau 

 photo) 



Caiolinas to the coral shores of the Hawaiian 

 Islands. The combined forces of nature are contin- 

 ually eroding and, at some locations, building up 

 the beaches along U.S. seacoasts. 



The erosion problems are many and varied; 

 they are pressing in some areas and of little 

 immediate concern in others. The Corps of Engi- 

 neers estimates that about 56,000 miles of shore- 

 line need some type of assessment of erosion 

 problems. Of this about 16,000 miles already have 

 been studied and about 7,000 miles currently are 

 being studied (1967).'' A breakdown by States is 

 given in Table 1 . 



The most critical areas requiring restoration or 

 nourishment are the entire Atlantic shoreline of 

 New Jersey, the coastline of Florida between Cape 

 Kennedy and Miami, the Gulf of Mexico shoreline 

 in the vicinity of Galveston, the California shore- 

 line from Santa Barbara to San Diego, and the 

 south shoreline of Lake Erie.^ 



Information on Federal Shore Protection Activities, 

 Report by Corps of Engineers, Nov. 28, 1967. 



Shore and Beach Protection, Corps of Engineers, 

 Coastal Engineering Research Center, July 21, 1967. 



It is not realized that sand is a rapidly diminish- 

 ing natural resource. Once carried to our shores in 

 abundant supply by streams, rivers, and glaciers, 

 geological processes are such that large areas of our 

 coast receive no supply from these sources.* 



Currently, with few exceptions, streams are 

 adding little material to the beaches, and loss from 

 the beaches is essentially permanent. Development 

 of inland areas tends further to affect erosion of 

 the upland with results in reduced in sand supply 

 to the shore. The construction of dams and the 

 curtailment of stream flow further reduces the 

 coarse sediment load carried to our coastal zone. 



For some time, the source of sand for beach 

 restoration and nourishment has been from la- 

 goonal and inland deposits. However, recently it 

 has become increasingly difficult economically to 

 obtain suitable sand from these sources in suffi- 

 cient quantity for beach fill purposes. This is due 

 primarily to the increased value of marginal and 

 inland lands, including development by public and 



Land Against the Sea, U.S. Army Coastal Engineering 

 Research Center Misc. Paper 4-64, May 1964. 



III-30 



