Processes that Change the Land

Sand on the Virginia Barrier Islands are moved by winds and waves and by tides and currents. Sand is moved along the coast by longshore currents produced by the waves that strike the coast. Waves from the northeast cause the currents to flow southward and the sands tumble their way in the same direction. Southeast waves drive the currents and the sands northward.

During storms water and beach sands are driven across the island. New sand is added to the body of the island and sometimes the marshes on the lagoon side of the island. Under conditions of extreme storms the islands may be breached by the ocean and inlets formed. the sand that flows through the inlet into the lagoons transports large quantities of sand and build new sand islands on which marshes form.

The sands that are lifted onto the islands are subsequently reworked to form dunes and dune ridges on which woody vegetation can grow.