Parrsboro Spit Lighthouse
The first Parrsboro Lighthouse, an octagonal wooden tower with an attached dwelling, was built in 1852 at the end of the sand spit near the entrance to the harbour at Parrsboro. Parrsboro Harbour is located in Cumberland County Nova Scotia on the north shore of the Minas Basin, part of the Bay of Fundy. The harbour is completely tidal, emptying at low tide and marked by the lighthouse on the western side of the harbour entrance on a natural sand spit.
A spit or sandspit is a deposition bar or beach landform off coasts or lake shores. It develops in places where re-entrance occurs, such as at a cove's headlands, by the process of longshore drift by longshore currents. The drift occurs due to waves meeting the beach at an oblique angle, moving sediment down the beach in a zigzag pattern. This is complemented by longshore currents, which further transport sediment through the water alongside the beach. These currents are caused by the same waves that cause the drift
Spits occur when longshore drift reaches a section of headland where the turn is greater than 30 degrees. The spit will continue out into the sea until water pressure (e.g. from a river) becomes too great to allow the sand to deposit. Vegetation may then start to grow on the spit, and the spit may become stable and often fertile. A spit may be considered a special form of a shoal. As spits grow, the water behind them is sheltered from wind and waves, and a salt marsh is likely to develop. In this case the tidal flow of the harbour has kept it clear.
Wave refraction can occur at the end of a spit, carrying sediment around the end to form a hook or recurved spit. Refraction in multiple directions may create a complex spit. Waves that arrive in a direction other than obliquely along the spit will halt the growth of the spit, shorten it, or eventually destroy it entirely.
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Questions:
1 - How long is the spit?
2 - Why did the spit form at the end of the harbour?
3 - What is the spit made of?
4 - The spit and ground zero are at similar height, what is the elevations?
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