Land Features
North American Coasts consist of many different types of land features and hydrographic/hypsographic characteristics. The following are all detailed features of what you might see on a coast in North America.
Bar - Hypsographic feature - a shallow ridge or mound of coarse unconsolidated material in a stream channel, at the mouth of a stream, estuary, or lagoon and in the wave-break zone along coasts.
Bay - Hypsographic feature - a coastal indentation between two capes or headlands, larger than a cove but smaller than a gulf.
Beach - Hypsographic feature - a shore zone of coarse unconsolidated sediment that extends from the low-water line to the highest reach of storm waves.
Bight - Hydrographic feature - an open body of water forming a slight recession in a coastline.
Bank - Undersea feature - elevation, typically located on a shelf, over which the depth of water is relatively shallow but sufficient for safe surface navigation.
Blowhole - Hypsographic feature - a hole in coastal rock through which sea water is forced by a rising tide or waves and spurted through an outlet into the air.
Cape -Hypsographic feature - a land area, more prominent than a point, projecting into the sea and marking a notable change in coastal direction.
Cleft - Hypsographic feature - a deep narrow slot, notch, or groove in a coastal cliff.
Cove - Hydrographic feature - a small coastal indentation, smaller than a bay.
Coast - Area feature - a zone of variable width straddling the shoreline.
Shelf Edge - Undersea feature - a line along which there is a marked increase of slope at the outer margin of a continental shelf or island shelf.
Fjord - Hydrographic feature - a long, narrow, steep-walled, deep-water arm of the sea at high latitudes, usually along mountainous coasts.
Ferry- Spot feature - a boat or other floating conveyance and terminal facilities regularly used to transport people and vehicles across a waterbody.
Gulf - Hydrographic feature - a large recess in the coastline, larger than a bay.
Headland - Hypsographic feature - a high projection of land extending into a large body of water beyond the line of the coast.
Ledge - Undersea feature - a rocky projection or outcrop, commonly linear and near shore.
Narrow - Hydrographic feature - a navigable narrow part of a bay, strait, river, etc.
Promenade - Road/Railroad feature - a place for public walking, usually along a beach front.
Point - Hypsographic feature - a tapering piece of land projecting into a body of water, less prominent than a cape.
Shore - Hypsographic feature - a narrow zone bordering a waterbody which covers and uncovers at high and low water, respectively.
Spit - Hypsographic feature - a narrow, straight or curved continuation of a beach into a waterbody.
