North Beach Shoreline Change
North Beach Facts
- The Grays Harbor north jetty was completed in 1916, and was rehabilitated in 1941, 1976, and 2000.
- Following construction of the jetty, sand from the estuaries' ebb-tidal delta moved onshore, causing rapid accretion in the areas closest to the jetty.
- The shoreline at the red transect (closest to the jetty) accreted most rapidly between initial jetty construction and the 1920s. After that, accretion tapered off through the 1990s. The shoreline moved seaward nearly 1700 m (~ 1 mile) by the late 1980s.
- The length and height of the jetty combined with the sediment supply determines shoreline change.
For more information about ...
- ... pre-historic shoreline change, see Prehistoric beach accretion rates and long-term response to sediment depletion in the Columbia River Littoral System, USA,
- ... converting paper maps to digital shorelines, see Historical Map Recovery using Multiple, Integrated ESRI Programs, or
- ... calculating shoreline change rates using GIS, see Coastline Mapping and Identification of Erosion Hazard Areas in Pacific County, Washington.
