BAY - A recess in the shore or an inlet of a sea between two capes or 

 headlands, not as large as a gulf but larger than a cove. See 

 also BIGHT, EMBAYMENT. (See Figure A-9.) 



BAYMOUTH BAR - A bar extending partly or entirely across the mouth of 

 a bay. (See Figure A-9.) 



BAYOU - A minor sluggish waterway or estuarial creek, tributary to, or 



connecting, other streams or bodies of water. Its course is usually 

 through lowlands or swamps. Sometimes called SLOUGH. 



BEACH - The zone of unconsolidated material that extends landward from 

 the low water line to the place where there is marked change in 

 material or physiographic form, or to the line of permanent vege- 

 tation (usually the effective limit of storm waves). The seaward 

 limit of a beach - unless otherwise specified - is the mean low 

 water line. A beach includes FORESHORE and BACKSHORE. (See 

 Figure A-1.) 



BEACH ACCRETION - See ACCRETION. 



BEACH BERM - A nearly horizontal part of the beach or backshore formed 

 by the deposit of material by wave action. Some beaches have no 

 berms , others have one or several. (See Figure A-1.) 



BEACH CUSP - See CUSP. 



BEACH EROSION - Tlie carrying away of beach materials by wave action, 

 tidal currents, littoral currents, or wind. 



BEACH FACE - The section of the beach normally exposed to the action of 

 the wave uprush. The FORESHORE of a BEACH. (Not synonymous with 

 SHORE FACE.) (See Figure A- 2.) 



BEACH RIDGE - See RIDGE, BEACH. 



BEACH SCARP - See SCARP, BEACH. 



BEACH WIDTH - The horizontal dimension of the beach measured normal to 

 the shoreline. 



BED FORMS - Any deviation from a flat bed that is readily detectable by 

 eye, and higher than the largest sediment size present in the parent 

 bed material; generated on the bed of an alluvial channel by the 

 flow. 



BEDLOAD - See LOAD. 



BENCH - (1) A level or gently sloping erosion plane inclined seaward. 

 (2) A nearly horizontal area at about the level of maximum high 

 water on the sea side of a dike. 



A-3 



