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74-705: Sapelo Island / ˈ s æ p əl oʊ / is a state-protected barrier island located in McIntosh County, Georgia . The island is accessible only by boat; the primary ferry comes from the Sapelo Island Visitors Center in McIntosh County, Georgia, a seven-mile (11 km), twenty-minute trip. It is the site of Hog Hammock , the last known Gullah community. Access to the island is restricted to residents, landowners, or guests thereof. Public access must be obtained by getting

148-414: A gangway to a ferry at a marina collapsed during a Sapelo Island Cultural Day celebration, killing 7 and injuring another 8. Several people are also reported to be missing. Sapelo Island is speculated to be the site of San Miguel de Gualdape , the short-lived (1526–1527) first European settlement in the present-day United States, and if true, it would also be the first place in the present-day U.S. that

222-475: A 13-page document about Islamic law on the island — possibly the first manuscript of Islamic law written in the United States. In 1820, a Winslow Lewis brick lighthouse was built on the island. Although it remained dark for over 90 years, it was restored and relit in 1998. Spalding opposed the abolition of slavery, and he died in 1851 returning from a convention to assert Georgia's position on

296-451: A 21st century betrayal. The past and present of 40 acres and a mule." PBS America Reframed has an episode on Sapelo. About 90 minutes, it includes extensive footage of interviews of Cornelia Walker Bailey and her family. Ronda Rich has written an adventure novel set on the island, Sapelo Island . It is "a Stella Bankwell mystery". Barrier island Chains of barrier islands can be found along approximately 13-15% of

370-517: A Catholic mass was celebrated. Sapelo, a name of Indian origin, was known to the Spanish as Zapala. During the 17th century, the island was part of the Guale missionary province of Spanish Florida . After 1680, several missions were merged and moved to the island under the mission Santa Catalina de Guale . In the early 19th century, Thomas Spalding , a future senator and U.S. Representative, bought

444-660: A Cultural Day festival every third Saturday in October. The entire 427 acres (173 ha) of the community was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996 as Hog Hammock Historic District . In the 1990s, people from the mainland began acquiring parcels of land from the Gullah-Geechee people to construct vacation homes. In 2012, McIntosh County property tax appraisers notified Hog Hammock residents of huge property tax increases, even though there

518-639: A Podcast titled ‘Sapelo NERRds’ about the research being conducted on the island and across Coastal Georgia. An episode of ESPN's Outside the Lines was filmed on Sapelo Island and the Hog Hammock community in 2013, documenting the childhood of Allen Bailey and telling the community's story and current property tax issues. The podcast Uncivil was mostly based on the experience of local Gullah people struggling to keep their land and culture intact despite many legal struggles. "A 19th century promise, and

592-419: A barrier island does not receive enough sediment to grow, repeated washovers from storms will migrate the island towards the mainland. Wave-dominated barrier islands may eventually develop into mixed-energy barrier islands. Mixed-energy barrier islands are molded by both wave energy and tidal flux. The flow of a tidal prism moves sand. Sand accumulates at both the inshore and off shore sides of an inlet, forming

666-666: A barrier island. Many have large numbers of barrier islands; Florida, for instance, had 29 (in 1997) in just 300 kilometres (190 mi) along the west (Gulf) coast of the Florida peninsula, plus about 20 others on the east coast and several barrier islands and spits along the panhandle coast. Padre Island , in Texas, is the world's longest barrier island; other well-known islands on the Gulf Coast include Galveston Island in Texas and Sanibel and Captiva Islands in Florida. Those on

740-546: A barrier island. They are located at the top of the backshore. The dunes will display characteristics of typical aeolian wind-blown dunes. The difference is that dunes on a barrier island typically contain coastal vegetation roots and marine bioturbation. The lagoon and tidal flat area is located behind the dune and backshore area. Here the water is still, which allows fine silts, sands, and mud to settle out. Lagoons can become host to an anaerobic environment. This will allow high amounts of organic-rich mud to form. Vegetation

814-506: A characteristic drumstick shape, with a wide portion at the northern end near the mouth of Phillipi Creek. Barrier islands are critically important in mitigating ocean swells and other storm events for the water systems on the mainland side of the barrier island, as well as protecting the coastline. This effectively creates a unique environment of relatively low energy, brackish water . Multiple wetland systems such as lagoons, estuaries, and/or marshes can result from such conditions depending on

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888-425: A flood delta or shoal on the bay or lagoon side of the inlet (from sand carried in on a flood tide), and an ebb delta or shoal on the open water side (from sand carried out by an ebb tide). Large tidal prisms tend to produce large ebb shoals, which may rise enough to be exposed at low tide. Ebb shoals refract waves approaching the inlet, locally reversing the longshore current moving sand along the coast. This can modify

962-586: A part-time residence for three decades, consolidating the island's African-American residents into Hog Hammock. Many worked as servants in South End House, later renamed the Reynolds Mansion by the State of Georgia. In 1923, Sapelo owner Howard Coffin introduced imported chachalacas from Mexico to diversify the game bird population for his hunting pals. These chicken-like birds have established

1036-633: A permit issued by state tourism authorities. Approximately 97 percent of the island is owned by the state of Georgia and is managed by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources ; the remainder is under private ownership. The western perimeter of Sapelo is the Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve (SINERR) which is part of NOAA's National Estuarine Research Reserve system (NERR). The University of Georgia Marine Institute , which

1110-426: A rather radical ordinance in contrast to their Comprehensive Plan, which stated it would protect the historic nature of Hog Hammock community. The community’s residents were barred from bringing recording equipment or phones into the public hearing for the new ordinance and the hearing was set with very little notice and after the last ferry left for the island that day, leaving many residents to choose between attending

1184-404: A small tidal range and a wave-dominated coast, there must be a relatively low gradient shelf. Otherwise, sand accumulation into a sandbar would not occur and instead would be dispersed throughout the shore. An ample sediment supply is also a requirement for barrier island formation. This often includes fluvial deposits and glacial deposits . The last major requirement for barrier island formation

1258-507: A small to moderate tidal range. Coasts are classified into three groups based on tidal range : microtidal, 0–2 meter tidal range; mesotidal, 2–4 meter tidal range; and macrotidal, >4 meter tidal range. Barrier islands tend to form primarily along microtidal coasts, where they tend to be well developed and nearly continuous. They are less frequently formed in mesotidal coasts, where they are typically short with tidal inlets common. Barrier islands are very rare along macrotidal coasts. Along with

1332-539: A stable, non-native population of 30 to 40 that at times has spread to neighboring islands. Sapelo owner R.J. Reynolds, Jr. founded the Sapelo Island Research Foundation in 1949. He later funded the research of Eugene Odum , whose 1958 paper The Ecology of a Salt Marsh won wide acclaim in scientific circles. Odum's paper helped show the fragility of the cycle of nature in the wetlands. Reynolds' Sapelo Research Foundation also helped fund

1406-439: A tidal inlet to breach the southern end of Blackbeard Island, and it created a small island between Sapelo Island and Blackbeard Island. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) offers tours several days a week. These can be booked through the Sapelo Island Visitors Center. Additionally, many island residents offer private tours, which can often be customized to fit the interests of individual tourists. A state campground

1480-414: Is a stable sea level. It is especially important for sea level to remain relatively unchanged during barrier island formation and growth. If sea level changes are too drastic, time will be insufficient for wave action to accumulate sand into a dune, which will eventually become a barrier island through aggradation . The formation of barrier islands requires a constant sea level so that waves can concentrate

1554-606: Is also available to groups of 15 to 25 people on Cabretta Island, adjacent to Sapelo Island. Sapelo Island resident and descendant of Bilali Muhammed, Cornelia Walker Bailey, wrote the book God, Dr. Buzzard, and the Bolito Man: A saltwater Geechee talk about life on Sapelo Island, Georgia , which is a first-person account of growing up on Sapelo; co-author Christena Bledsoe. R. J. Reynolds' grandson Patrick Reynolds and author Tom Shachtman co-authored The Gilded Leaf: Triumph, tragedy, and tobacco – three generations of

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1628-604: Is also common. Barrier Islands can be observed on every continent on Earth, except Antarctica. They occur primarily in areas that are tectonically stable , such as "trailing edge coasts" facing (moving away from) ocean ridges formed by divergent boundaries of tectonic plates, and around smaller marine basins such as the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico . Areas with relatively small tides and ample sand supply favor barrier island formation . Moreton Bay , on

1702-809: Is focused on research and education, is located on 1,500 acres (610 ha) on the south end of the island. The Reynolds Mansion, a Georgia State Park, also lies on the south end of the island. Visitors to the island must be a part of an organized tour or guests of residents on the island. The community of Hog Hammock, also known as Hogg Hummock, includes homes, a general store, bar, public library, and other small businesses including vacation rentals. There are two active church congregations in Hog Hammock: St. Luke Baptist Church, founded in 1885, and First African Baptist Church, established in 1866. The latter congregation has an older building known as First African Baptist Church at Raccoon Bluff , constructed in 1900 in

1776-459: Is heavier, bioturbation is not likely. The lower shoreface is constantly affected by wave action. This results in development of herringbone sedimentary structures because of the constant differing flow of waves. The sand is coarser. The foreshore is the area on land between high and low tide. Like the upper shoreface, it is constantly affected by wave action. Cross-bedding and lamination are present and coarser sands are present because of

1850-447: Is less than a critical value. The island did not narrow below these values because overwash was effective at transporting sediment over the barrier island, thereby keeping pace with the rate of ocean shoreline recession. Sections of the island with greater widths experienced washover deposits that did not reach the bayshore, and the island narrowed by ocean shoreline recession until it reached the critical width. The only process that widened

1924-530: Is to preserve and revitalize the Hogg Hummock Community. SICARS was founded in 1993 by Hogg Hummock residents and non-resident descendants who wanted to enhance the future of their community by educating all visitors to the island about the history and to increase awareness that Sapelo has existed as an African community for over 200 years. SICARS was incorporated in 1994, has over 600 members, and continues to grow each year. The organization hosts

1998-847: The Banyak Islands (chiefly Tuangku and Bangkaru), Nias , the Batu Islands (notably Pini, Tanahmasa and Tanahbala), the Mentawai Islands (mainly Siberut , Sipura , North Pagai and South Pagai Islands) and Enggano Island . Barrier islands can be observed in the Baltic Sea from Poland to Lithuania as well as distinctly in the Wadden Islands , which stretch from the Netherlands to Denmark. Lido di Venezia and Pellestrina are notable barrier islands of

2072-625: The Hudson Motor Car Company . Coffin purchased the entire island, except for the land owned by the former slaves, for $ 150,000 in 1912. Like Spalding, the Coffins embarked on numerous projects. Miles of shell-covered roads were laid, creeks were bridged, old fields were cultivated and large tracts were set aside for cattle grazing. The Coffins also renovated and enlarged the Spalding house, creating an island paradise unsurpassed on

2146-581: The Lagoon of Venice which have for centuries protected the city of Venice in Italy. Chesil Beach on the south coast of England developed as a barrier beach. Barrier beaches are also found in the north of the Azov and Black seas . Water levels may be higher than the island during storm events. This situation can lead to overwash , which brings sand from the front of the island to the top and/or landward side of

2220-472: The Mississippi River delta have been reworked by wave action, forming beach ridge complexes. Prolonged sinking of the marshes behind the barriers has converted these former vegetated wetlands to open-water areas. In a period of 125 years, from 1853 to 1978, two small semi-protected bays behind the barrier developed as the large water body of Lake Pelto, leading to Isles Dernieres 's detachment from

2294-1019: The East Coast include Miami Beach and Palm Beach in Florida; Hatteras Island in North Carolina; Assateague Island in Virginia and Maryland ; Absecon Island in New Jersey, where Atlantic City is located; and Jones Beach Island and Fire Island , both off Long Island in New York. No barrier islands are found on the Pacific Coast of the United States due to the rocky shore and short continental shelf, but barrier peninsulas can be found. Barrier islands can also be seen on Alaska 's Arctic coast. Barrier Islands can also be found in Maritime Canada, and other places along

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2368-562: The Gulf coast of the Florida peninsula, including: the North and South Anclote Bars associated with Anclote Key , Three Rooker Island , Shell Key , and South Bunces Key . American geologist Grove Karl Gilbert first argued in 1885 that the barrier sediments came from longshore sources. He proposed that sediment moving in the breaker zone through agitation by waves in longshore drift would construct spits extending from headlands parallel to

2442-535: The Hog Hammock community and Sapelo Island. They issued a zoning ordinance update which changed the historic area’s mandated restriction of only 1,400 sq ft indoor space to 3,200 sq ft. This came after a local non-descendant, Bill Hodges, who is also on the McIntosh County Industry and Development Authority Board, filed a complaint that he could not build a large enough vacation home for his family. This in turn led to McIntosh County Planning proposing

2516-433: The R. J. Reynolds fortune and family , which offers an unvarnished view of R. J. Reynolds, Jr. during the time he owned Sapelo. Author Tom Poland wrote a novel titled Forbidden Island ... an Island Called Sapelo . Singer Larry Jon Wilson has recorded a song titled "Sapelo", which is about the island on the album Testifying: The Country Soul Revue . Author and island resident Michele Nicole Johnson published

2590-766: The University of Georgia's research on the island. Reynolds' widow, Annemarie Reynolds, sold Sapelo to the state of Georgia for $ 1 million, a fraction of its worth, in two separate transactions in 1969 and 1976. The latter sale resulted in the creation of the Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve, a state-federal partnership between the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration . In part to

2664-399: The barrier beyond the critical width was breaching, formation of a partially subaerial flood shoal, and subsequent inlet closure. Critical barrier width can be defined as the smallest cross-shore dimension that minimizes net loss of sediment from the barrier island over the defined project lifetime. The magnitude of critical width is related to sources and sinks of sand in the system, such as

2738-435: The benefit of mainlanders who would acquire more of Hog Hammock's homes. The major paved roadways on the island were unmaintained by the county and had significant issues with flooding and overflowing ditch networks. A resolution was agreed, on which the county was to pay for new equipment for a volunteer fire station and revamp an aging building for a community center. In 2023, McIntosh County again came under legal issues with

2812-509: The coast. A good example is found at Miramichi Bay , New Brunswick , where Portage Island as well as Fox Island and Hay Island protect the inner bay from storms in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence . Mexico's Gulf of Mexico coast has numerous barrier islands and barrier peninsulas. Barrier islands are more prevalent in the north of both of New Zealand's main islands. Notable barrier islands in New Zealand include Matakana Island , which guards

2886-543: The coast. Former presidents Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover as well as aviator Charles Lindbergh were guests in the home. Tobacco heir Richard Joshua Reynolds Jr. , of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company bought Sapelo from Coffin in 1934 during the Great Depression , and continued the tradition of agricultural experimentation of the previous owners. Reynolds and his family used his private island paradise as

2960-529: The coast. The subsequent breaching of spits by storm waves would form barrier islands. William John McGee reasoned in 1890 that the East and Gulf coasts of the United States were undergoing submergence, as evidenced by the many drowned river valleys that occur along these coasts, including Raritan , Delaware and Chesapeake bays. He believed that during submergence, coastal ridges were separated from

3034-493: The community is estimated to be 47 (2009). The residents must bring all supplies from the mainland or purchase them in the small store on the island. The children of Hog Hammock take the ferry to the mainland and then take a bus to school, as the island school closed in 1978. Hog Hammock is also home to the Sapelo Island Cultural and Revitalization Society, Inc. (SICARS) , a non-profit organization whose mission

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3108-493: The community. They reassured the community several times stating that the commission would return it back to them to fix the issues, but they had to go ahead with it as written for now. Numerous lawyers present commented on the situation as the meetings procedure was “extremely out of the ordinary for a public hearing” and did not keep with Ga laws and regulations for “numerous reasons”. At the first of two commission meetings, which were held not even 3 days later and again held after

3182-481: The east coast of Australia and directly east of Brisbane , is sheltered from the Pacific Ocean by a chain of very large barrier islands. Running north to south they are Bribie Island , Moreton Island , North Stradbroke Island and South Stradbroke Island (the last two used to be a single island until a storm created a channel between them in 1896). North Stradbroke Island is the second largest sand island in

3256-544: The ebb shoal into swash bars, which migrate into the end of the island up current from the inlet, adding to the barrier's width near the inlet (creating a "drumstick" barrier island). This process captures sand that is carried by the longshore current, preventing it from reaching the downcurrent side of the inlet, starving that island. Many of the Sea Islands in the U.S. state of Georgia are relatively wide compared to their shore-parallel length. Siesta Key, Florida has

3330-419: The energy of the waves and currents striking the coast. Hence, it is an important aspect of coastal engineering . The shoreface is the part of the barrier where the ocean meets the shore of the island. The barrier island body itself separates the shoreface from the backshore and lagoon / tidal flat area. Characteristics common to the upper shoreface are fine sands with mud and possibly silt. Further out into

3404-585: The entrance to Tauranga Harbour , and Rabbit Island , at the southern end of Tasman Bay . See also Nelson Harbour's Boulder Bank , below. The Vypin Island in the Southwest coast of India in Kerala is 27 km long. It is also one of the most densely populated islands in the world. The Indonesian Barrier Islands lie off the western coast of Sumatra . From north to south along this coast they include Simeulue ,

3478-526: The formation of barrier islands for more than 150 years. There are three major theories: offshore bar, spit accretion, and submergence. No single theory can explain the development of all barriers, which are distributed extensively along the world's coastlines. Scientists accept the idea that barrier islands, including other barrier types, can form by a number of different mechanisms. There appears to be some general requirements for formation. Barrier island systems develop most easily on wave-dominated coasts with

3552-522: The former Raccoon Bluff community north of Hog Hammock. It is used for special services and programs. Many of the full-time inhabitants of the Hog Hammock Community are African Americans known as Gullah-Geechees , specifically Saltwater Geechees, who descended from enslaved native West African people brought to the island in the 1700s and 1800s to work on island plantations. The current population of full-time Gullah-Geechee residents in

3626-449: The hearing and sleeping in their home for the night. Numerous complaints were heard, including officials from the state about the lack of capacity in the water system for larger homes, from residents about the changing historic nature of the island and the tax hike that would result, and from scientists stating the flooding would increase in the community from the added weight of larger homes, and from religious leaders who stated Hog Hammock

3700-436: The high energy present by the crashing of the waves. The sand is also very well sorted . The backshore is always above the highest water level point. The berm is also found here which marks the boundary between the foreshore and backshore. Wind is the important factor here, not water. During strong storms high waves and wind can deliver and erode sediment from the backshore. Coastal dunes , created by wind, are typical of

3774-567: The island and developed it into a plantation , selling live oak for shipbuilding, introducing irrigation ditches, and cultivating Sea Island Cotton , corn, and sugar cane. Spalding brought 400 slaves to the island from West Africa and the West Indies to work the plantation and build what became the Spalding Mansion. One of the slaves owned by Thomas Spalding was Bilali Muhammad , an Islamic scholar from West Africa who wrote

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3848-485: The island and seen firsthand why 3,400 sq ft homes would not work logistically. In a controversial move, Commissioner David Stevens ended the meeting after the vote by saying that “this new generation [on Sapelo] just didn’t have it” and insulted the community saying this was their own fault for “being greedy” and selling their land to developers to begin with. Numerous complaints, legal challenges, and referendums have now been filed and are still pending. On October 19, 2024,

3922-427: The island at an angle will carry sediment long, extending the island. Longshore currents, and the resultant extension, are usually in one direction, but in some circumstances the currents and extensions can occur towards both ends of the island (as occurs on Anclote Key , Three Rooker Bar , and Sand Key , on the Gulf Coast of Florida). Washover fans on the lagoon side of barriers, where storm surges have over-topped

3996-450: The island over the residents. The County Manager, Patrick Zoucks, publicly accused the DNR of causing the issue as public lands in the states holding are not on the tax bracket in the county, forcing the county to be desperate for funds. He posted this to the county Facebook page and in newspaper articles. After several complaints were filed, the press and recording devices were then allowed for

4070-524: The island, are common, especially on younger barrier islands. Wave-dominated barriers are also susceptible to being breached by storms, creating new inlets. Such inlets may close as sediment is carried in them by longshore currents, but may become permanent if the tidal prism (volumn and force of tidal flow) is large enough. Older barrier islands that have accumulated dunes are less subject to washovers and opening of inlets. Wave-dominated islands require an abundant supply of sediment to grow and develop dunes. If

4144-407: The island. This process leads to the evolution and migration of the barrier island. Barrier islands are often formed to have a certain width. The term "critical width concept" has been discussed with reference to barrier islands, overwash, and washover deposits since the 1970s. The concept basically states that overwash processes were effective in migration of the barrier only where the barrier width

4218-490: The last 2.5 million years ( Neogene and Quaternary Periods ), sea-level fall occurred in response to growth of the Northern Hemisphere ice cap. The resulting regression generated shoreline complexes that preceded the modern Holocene shoreline, with the most recent known as the late Pleistocene Silver Bluff Formation. The Silver Bluff deposits underlie Holocene Sapelo Island sediments, and they are visible along

4292-492: The last commissioners meeting- during which the commission voted for the ordinance to be passed in a 3-2 vote. Three in favor were of the vote were the Chairman at the time, David Stevens, Commissioner Kate Karwacki (a local realtor), and Commissioner at large Davis Poole. The two votes not in favor were of Commissioner William E. Harrell and Commissioner Roger Lotson, whose district actually holds Sapelo Island and who had been on

4366-416: The last ferry left for the day, the public comment period was fraught with controversy and outcry. Then some of the county commissioners and the county manager maintained that the county was trying to keep residents happy and allow progress in the protected community, but several accused Commissioners of not abiding by their own regulations and comprehensive planning process to abide new developers' interests in

4440-543: The mainland, and lagoons formed behind the ridges. He used the Mississippi–Alabama barrier islands (consists of Cat , Ship , Horn , Petit Bois and Dauphin Islands) as an example where coastal submergence formed barrier islands. His interpretation was later shown to be incorrect when the ages of the coastal stratigraphy and sediment were more accurately determined. Along the coast of Louisiana , former lobes of

4514-585: The mainland. An unusual natural structure in New Zealand may give clues to the formation processes of barrier islands. The Boulder Bank , at the entrance to Nelson Haven at the northern end of the South Island , is a unique 13 km-long stretch of rocky substrate a few metres in width. It is not strictly a barrier island, as it is linked to the mainland at one end. The Boulder Bank is composed of granodiorite from Mackay Bluff, which lies close to

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4588-561: The matter. When freed, the former slaves established several settlements on the island; the last remaining is Hog Hammock, with approximately 70 remaining land owners. During the Civil War , the Spalding home was heavily vandalized and lay in ruins. By the early 20th century, the International Road Races were attracting notables from the motor world to Savannah, Georgia . One attendee was Howard E. Coffin , founder of

4662-439: The ocean the sediment becomes finer. The effect of waves at this point is weak because of the depth. Bioturbation is common and many fossils can be found in upper shoreface deposits in the geologic record . The middle shoreface is located in the upper shoreface. The middle shoreface is strongly influenced by wave action because of its depth. Closer to shore the sand is medium-grained, with shell pieces common. Since wave action

4736-519: The philanthropy of the Reynolds family, Sapelo is now open to the public by appointment. Sapelo Island is located within the Georgia Bight , a tidally influenced coastline that experiences two tidal cycles each day. Average difference between low and high tides at Sapelo Island is ~7 feet (2.1 m). Consequently, Sapelo island is an example of a tidally influenced barrier island system. Over

4810-591: The photograph book Sapelo Island's Hog Hammock in 2009. Author T. C. Boyle set his 1990 novel East Is East on a fictional island in Georgia, much of which resembles Sapelo Island, such as the presence of Hog Hammock and proximity to Darien . An episode of Season 6 of the show Dirty Jobs featured the termite research program at the University of Georgia Marine Institute on Sapelo Island. The Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) hosts

4884-628: The point where the bank joins the mainland. It is still debated what process or processes have resulted in this odd structure, though longshore drift is the most accepted hypothesis. Studies have been conducted since 1892 to determine the speed of boulder movement. Rates of the top-course gravel movement have been estimated at 7.5 metres a year. Richard Davis distinguishes two types of barrier islands, wave-dominated and mixed-energy. Wave-dominated barrier islands are long, low, and narrow, and usually are bounded by unstable inlets at either end. The presence of longshore currents caused by waves approaching

4958-521: The sand into one location. In 1845 the Frenchman Elie de Beaumont published an account of barrier formation. He believed that waves moving into shallow water churned up sand, which was deposited in the form of a submarine bar when the waves broke and lost much of their energy. As the bars developed vertically, they gradually rose above sea level, forming barrier islands. Several barrier islands have been observed forming by this process along

5032-615: The southwestern bank of Blackbeard Creek as the Raccoon Bluff. During the last glacial maximum (LGM) approximately 18,000 years ago (latest Pleistocene), maximum regression forced the Sapelo Island shoreline eastward approximately 62 miles (100 km) from its present-day location. During the subsequent transgression, a Holocene shoreline formed the present Sapelo Island shoreline complex, including Cabretta and Nannygoat beaches. In 2017, storm surge from Hurricane Irma caused

5106-469: The surroundings. They are typically rich habitats for a variety of flora and fauna. Without barrier islands, these wetlands could not exist; they would be destroyed by daily ocean waves and tides as well as ocean storm events. One of the most prominent examples is the Louisiana barrier islands . Gangway (nautical) A gangway is a narrow passage that joins the quarterdeck to the forecastle of

5180-408: The volume stored in the dunes and the net long-shore and cross-shore sand transport, as well as the island elevation. The concept of critical width is important for large-scale barrier island restoration, in which islands are reconstructed to optimum height, width, and length for providing protection for estuaries, bays, marshes and mainland beaches. Scientists have proposed numerous explanations for

5254-412: The world and Moreton Island is the third largest. Fraser Island , another barrier island lying 200 km north of Moreton Bay on the same coastline, is the largest sand island in the world. Barrier islands are found most prominently on the United States' East and Gulf Coasts, where every state, from Maine to Florida (East Coast) and from Florida to Texas ( Gulf coast ), features at least part of

5328-415: The world's coastlines. They display different settings, suggesting that they can form and be maintained in a variety of environments. Numerous theories have been given to explain their formation. A human-made offshore structure constructed parallel to the shore is called a breakwater . In terms of coastal morphodynamics , it acts similarly to a naturally occurring barrier island by dissipating and reducing

5402-422: Was a religious center for Muslim and Christians alike and allowing large vacation homes and the other proposed changes would result in less affordable options for current historic homeowners. McIntosh County planning department pushed the ordinance forward anyways, stating that the commissioners could vote to send it back to them to fix all of the obvious problems instead of pulling the ordinance and reworking it with

5476-479: Was no longer a school on the island and the DNR manages and pays for water, trash removal, and the ferry and barge system. There are no emergency services on the island, everything is volunteer-run by the residents and state staff. One Hog Hammock property owner's annual tax bill soared from $ 600 to $ 2,100. In 2013, a legal fight over the sudden tax hikes was well underway, with some residents claiming they would be driven from land they had owned for many generations for

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