Barrier islands, as defined by NOAA are -
"Elongate accumulations of sand that are separated from the mainland by open water in the form of estuaries, bays, or lagoons."
My birthplace, Long Beach, New York, is located on a barrier island, off the south shore of Long Island, New York. The funny part is, I never knew anything about the geology or geography of this place where I was born, until I began exploring it with Google Earth this past weekend.
Turns out, it is part of a string of barrier islands, known as the New York City and Long Island barrier islands. They divide the Atlantic Ocean, from the lagoons south of Long Island. These barrier islands etend 120 miles across Long Island's coast. Winds, waves, currents, storms, and tides, are continually causing change to this system of islands, bays, channels, wetlands, and beaches.
In addittion I found out, that Long Island was formed by retreating glaciers of the ice-age, 21,000 years ago, and is part of a glacial moraine. Glaceirs melted and receded to the north, leaving rocky, north-shore beaches, resulting from glacial debris. South-shore beaches were left sandy, the result of outwash sand. Today, the beaches of the south-shore of Long Island, including Long Beach, are clean and white, offering recreational and educational opportunities to all who live and visit there.
Long Beach itself is a small small, narrow island, just 2 square miles in area. It is about 3.5 miles in length, and averages about .5 mile in width. As one can imagine, surf from storms causes a great deal of beach erosion on the ocean side, and artificial dunes are used to help protect much of the shoreline. There are three bridges which connect it to the mainland, Long Island. The various ecosystems of Long Beach, as well as the other barrier islands, support a wide and diverse range plant and animal species. As children playing on the beach, we would encounter evidence of a variety of fish, sea-birds, shellfish, marine plants, jelly-fish, and marine mammals. It is a place vastly different from where I live now, but equally as interesting and important!
Exploring the place I grew up with Google Earth led to a great deal new knowledge about a place I thought I knew. Running into terms such as "barrier islands" and "bight" led to further exploration, and a deeper understanding of where I began my life on this planet. The idea of interconnectedness emerged once again, as I noticed the influence the ice-age has had on both the place where I was born, and where I live now. Using Google Earth ourselves, and with students, is a pathway to enhanced understanding of our world in terms of landmarks, geography, geology, culture, and more.
Images of Long Island taken by NASA - These files are in the public domain because they were created NASA <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA>. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted".
Google Earth Images - Long Beach, NY
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