Summerville Beach a Spit EarthCache

Summerville Beach a Spit

Summerville Beach is one of those places that is hidden in plain sight. It is located right off the main highway and yet you could so easily miss it when travelling past. Protected as a Provincial Park, Summerville Beach features a wide, kilometre long swath of light sand. The water is fantastically clear and turquoise on a sunny day. One of the finest beaches on the South Shore. Approximately 1 km (1/2 mi) long, the beach is backed by sand dunes and an open saltmarsh.

Spits are formed where the prevailing wind blows at an angle to the coastline. It develops in places where re-entrance occurs, such as at a cove's headlands, by the process of longshore drift by offshore currents. Spits are also created by deposition. A spit forms when the material is deposited by either process

Over time, the spit grows and may develop a hook if wind directions changes further out. Waves cannot get past a spit, which creates a sheltered area where silt is deposited and mud flats or salt marshes form.  At Summerville beach, there is a marsh at the base of the spit on the North side and mud flats at the tip of the spit.

Longshore Drift

Where there is a break in the coastline and a slight drop in energy, longshore drift will deposit material at a faster rate than it can be removed and gradually a ridge is built up, projecting outwards into the sea. This will cause more deposits over time.

On the spit itself, sand dunes often form and salt-loving vegetation colonises. Water becomes trapped behind the spit, creating a low energy zone, as the water begins to stagnate, mud and marshland often begins to colonise behind the spit; spits may continue to grow until deposition can no longer occur, for example due to increased depth, or the spit begins to cross the mouth of a river and the water removes the material faster than it can deposited - preventing further build up. In this case the Broad river removes the material faster than it can be deposited to prevent closing off the river.

To log this Earthcache visit the viewing location.  Please answer the following questions and send in a timely manner to my geocaching profile or email. Answers not received will result in deleted logs.

1. Is there any grass present on the dune?

2. How much higher is the elevation of the dune over the tide line?

3. Describe the colour and composition of the sand?  

4. Will the spit get longer or wider over time?

5. Post a picture of the area.

[REQUIRED] In accordance with the updated guidelines from Geocaching Headquarters published in June 2019, photos are now an acceptable logging requirement and WILL BE REQUIRED TO LOG THIS CACHE. Please provide a photo of yourself or a personal item in the picture to prove you visited the site.