A SPIT is a naturally occurring bar of sand or gravel built from
sediment and projecting out into a body of water. A spit will
normally be found at a cove, bay, or river mouth. Spits are formed
by the movement of sediment (typically sand) along a shore by a
process known as longshore drift. Where the direction of the shore
turns inland the longshore current spreads out or dissipates.
No longer able to carry the full load, much of the sediment is
dropped. This causes a bar to build out from the shore, eventually
becoming a spit. If the supply of sediment is interrupted, the sand
at the neck (landward side) of the spit may be moved towards the
head, eventually creating an island. If the supply isn't
interrupted, and the spit isn't breached by the water, the spit may
become a bar, with both ends joined to land, and a lagoon behind
the bar.
In the formation of a spit, sediment will continue out into the
lake or ocean until water pressure (such as from a river) becomes
too much to allow the soil to deposit. The spit may then become
stable and often fertile. A marsh is likely to develop in the
sheltered water behind the spit.
To claim this Earth Cache, please provide the following information
(in an email) to us:
1. What is the compostion of the soil/sediment where the water
meets the land where you are standing on the spit?
Extra Credit - What kind of vegetation did the Boy Scouts plant in
the marsh adjoining the spit?