A SYSTEM OF INVENTORY FOR THE
SHOREZOM‘ZS OF THE GREAT LAKES

Thesis for the Degree of M. S.
MICHIGAN STATE COLLEGE

Wiiiiam Franklin Jewell

E947

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This is to certify that the

thesis entitled

A SYSTEltI OF I‘WEI‘JTORY FOR THE
SHOREZONES OF THE GREAT LAKES

presented by

\

William F. Jewell

has been accepted towards fulfillment

of the requirements for

Master of S°i§Q99___degree in_Conservation

 

Major professnr

Date. March 20J 1947

 

M-795

 

 

 

Ill.l||.

 

A SYSTEM OF IIWENTORY FOR THE SEORE'Z NBS OF THE GREAT LAKES

By
William Franklin Jewell

A THESIS
Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies of Michigan
State College of Agriculture and Applied Science
in partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the degree of
MASTEZ OF SHENCE

Department of Conservation Institute

1947

ACKNO 1m room i airs

The writer wishes to express his gratitude and appreciation
to Professor Lee Roy Schoenmann, Director of the Conservation Insti-
tute, and to Professor 3'. 0. Veatch of the Soil Science Department
of Michigan State College, for their interest, encouragement, and
challenging, constructive criticism. For aid in the selection and
preparation of the photographic material the writer is greatly in-
debted to Professor Paul M. Barrett of the Conservation Institute.

For the use of material in manuscript form, and for help-
ful criticism regarding the application of scientific shore studies
to the field of Conservation, the writer wishes to express his grati-

tude to Dr. F. P. Shepard of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography.

TAEEE OF ml‘tl‘EllTS

FORE'JORD'
ran REiitUIRBvEHI'S OF A SDREZOISE CLASSIFICATION
'1?le OFF SEORE ZONE
The Factors of Protection
The Materials of‘the Off Shore Zone
The Dynamic Influences of the Off Shore Zone
TIE SHORE OR BEACH
The Materials of the Beach
Slope and Form of the Eeach
TEE COAST
Coast Types
Landface Characteristics
LIEIHODS OF IINE‘TI‘ORY
BASIC SEOPEZOI‘E INVENTORY
APPLICATION OF THE BASIC IFIVEE'H'ORY TO SHOREZOI'IE CLASSIFICATION
DEVELOPMNI‘ OF SPECIFIC TYPES IN ILLUSTRATION
The Cecil Bay Type
The Pictured Rocks Type
The Marquette Type
The Burnt Bluff Type
The Harrisville Tyne
The Brevort Type
The De Tour Type

The Pocket Beach Type

10
10
ll
12
13-20
21

22

24

CONCLUSIONS

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

TABLE OF CONTENTS --

Continued
Page
20
28

A SYSTEM OF INVENTORY FOR.THE SHOREZONES OF THE GREKT LAKES

FOREWORD.

The conservation of the shorezones of the oceans and the Great
Lakes is a relatively new idea in the field of natural resource conser-
vation. Shorezone problems have been approached in the past largely
in terms of engineering works for the protection of prOperty of high
value.

The Beach Erosion Board, established by the River and.Harbor
Act of 1930, was charged with "making investigations and studies ....
with a view to devising effective means of preventing erosion of shores
of coastal and lake waters by waves and currents."1 These studies have
been concerned with the dynamics of the shoreline as they affect beach
erosion and the need for engineering structures.

The National Park Service has been given the task of location,
classification, and purchase of "outstanding stretches of the ocean beaches”
as recreational and scenic areas.2 This classification was on the basis
of scenic value rather than shore forms.

Specific problems of utilization have been investigated by
civic associations, as in the case of the California Beaches Association.3
A regional inventory of the number of miles of sand beach available for
recreational purposes has been carried out in Florida.4 Numerous geo-
logical and geomorphological studies have been made, notably by Douglas
Johnson,5 and F. P. Shepard.6 These concerned themselves either with

broad genetic classifications or with microforms associated with the

beaches.

ans REQDIRMTS or A saonnzmm cmssrgpgrrpp.

 

An.effective classification of the shorezone must go beyond
the prevention of erosion, beyond the selection of recreational sites,
hand beyond the investigation of gross and minor landforms and processes.
It must encompass all of these studies and problems, and must, in its
eventual form, supply the basis for answering detailed and Specific
questions regarding the conservation and utilization of the shorezone.

Classification on the basis of utilization or suitability
for use is limited by the viewpoint and objectives of the person mak-
ing such a classification. The individual seeking a resort location
has different requirements than the one interested in locating an ore
dock.v Accessibility to the water margin from both land and sea is
vital to the. fisherman, while the men seeking a suburban residential
site might be more interested in the view. Each type of utilization
requires its own balance of physical and dynamic factors for optimum
development. Five basic factors govern all shore utilization. They
are Form, Composition,.Accessibility; Protection, and Stability.
Shorezone types based on these factors will be adequate for the re-
quirements of the land use planner.

To create such types good factual data is required. This
must not only be of a physiographic nature but must include an evalu-
ation of the dynamic factors of the wind, waves, currents, and ice.
This information.may be derived only from a thorough and precise in-
ventory of the shorezone.

To facilitate this discussion it is necessary to define the
terms used. In.general, these definitions are in.agreement with those

of the Beach Erosion Board,7 although Shorezone, Backland and.Landface

unexm

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are of the writer's own invention.
SHOREZONE The zone comprising the Off Shore, the Shore

or Beach, and the Coast or Landface.

1)

OFT SI E The zone that extends indefinitely seaward from

C)
t

the low water mark.

SHORE
OR
BEACH

COAST

LANDFACE

BACKLAND

SHOREINE
COAST LINE

The zone extending from the low water mark to
the highest limit reached by storm waves or ice
shove.

The zone of indeterminate width landward from
the Shore.

The zone extending landward from the Shore to
the limit of direct influence of the shore proc-
esses. Thus, the tap of a cliff, the crest of
a clay bluff, or the inner limit of active dune
formation would constitute the landward margin
of the landface. From this it may be seen that
the term Coast may be used in land typ'e classi-
fications, while Landface should be used in
discussions of slope, materials, and height of
land behind the Shore.

A zone extending indefinitely landward from the
inner limit of the Landface.

The line separating the Off Shore from the Beach.
The line that forms the boundary between the

Coast and the Shore.

From the definition of the term Shorezone, it is obvious

that it breaks down quite naturally into its three components, The

Off Shore, The Beach,

and the Landface or Coast. The basic inventory

must consider each component separately.

THE OFF SHORE zgg.

The four dominant factors of the Off Shore are: l) the width

of the terrace, 2) the degree of protection, 3) the materials composing
the bottom, and h) the dynamic influences operating there.

The condition of the offshore terrace is important in a
number of respects. Shoal water will tend to inhibit wave action,
which may reduce wave sapping of the shore. The same condition will
adversely affect navigation by deep draft vessels. A measurement
from the shore to a depth of six feet will indicate the approsdmate
width of bathing beach available. The expression of the condition
of this terrace may be in terms of width to a given depth, or in terms
of degrees or percent of slepe. For the purposes of this inventory,
in order to establish the essential conditions in terms that may be
readily obtained either from coast charts or by survey methods, the
distances to two arbitrarily selected depth curves have been taken
as the means of echression. The six foot, or one fathom, and the thirty
foot, or five fathom curves have been chosen. The thirty foot curve
corresponds to the limiting depth of locks and channels of the St.
Lawrence Seaway project. As the maximm draft of the largest lake ves-
sels it is correspondingly the minimum depth of free navigation or
the danger line. The six foot depth bears a similar relationship to
the small craft of the lakes, also corresponding, as previously men-
tioned to the practical limit of bathing and swimming. The broad ex-
tension of a six foot shoal would have a profound effect on wave action,
as waves over three to four feet in height break at that depth, spend-
ing the wave energy and reducing the effect of wave action on the shore.
Both of these curves are drawn on the charts of the Great Lakes.

The Factors of Protection.
The factors of protection are to be determined in terms of

the amount of wave and current attack that will be operating against
the shore. This is dependent upon the angle of approach of the waves,
the convergence or divergence of waves upon the shore due to subnarine
topographic conditions, and the limitation of the wave height by the
depth of the off shore shelf. L

The existence of relatively permanent wind systems Mg
the different seasons of the year allows the oceanographer to predict
prevailing wave directions for each season. The wave directions of
the storm season, when the largest waves prevail, are the most impor-
tant in the determination of the direction of major wave attack upon
a coast. Should the shore lie across the path of the storm waves the
maximum effect would be felt, while a windward shore would receive
the mininmm of wave attack.

The configuration of the shoreline and of the bottom contours
may greatly alter wave effect. The force of the waves can be concen-
trated or diminished in a given area under the influence of points
and bays as well as suhnarine ridges and canyons. Waves approaching
a coast begin to "feel bottom" as soon as they get within a depth that
correSponds roughly to one-half of their crest to crest wavelength.
The internal motion of the wave is of considerable amplitude at that
depth, enough to retard the progress of the wave should there be an
restriction of the oscillatory motion. Thus all waves, when they get
within this limiting depth, tend to follow the submarine contours.

On a straight shore there will be little tendency for waves to refract
in this manner unless the underwater contours are not in the same pat-
tern as those of the land. It may be seen, however, that refraction

will cause waves to converge upon points and diverge within bays.

(See Figure 2.) Refraction diagrams can be constructed to show the
amount to which this convergence and divergence takes place and to
compute the height and force of the waves approaching a given shore,
presupposing a given wave height and wavelength in open water. These
diagrams are based on the fact that wave energy does not travel along
the wave crest but is transmitted with the forward motion of the wave.
It is possible to construct theoretical lines delimiting zones of
equal wave force. These lines run perpendicular to the wave crests
and are called orthogonals. If the orthogonals on a wave entering a
bay mouth are 100 feet apart and divergence takes place as‘the wave
conforms to the bottom contours, the orthogonals may be extended mitil
they are 200 feet apart where the wave breaks upon the shore. Corres-
pondingly, the same wave converging upon a point might cause the dis-
tance between orthogonals to be decreased to 50 feet. The amount of
energy which was contained in 100 feet of wave crest in the open lake
would be concentrated along 50 feet of the shore of the point and
.spread over 200 feet of the shore of the bay. The force of wave at-
tack on the point would be twice that received on a straight coast
and four times that received in a bay. In terms of shore erosion such
a factor is of tmendous importance. In the system of inventory
offered in this paper the means of determining a general protective
factor is given.
The Materials of the Off Shore :ZILone.

The materials of the off shore have an important bearing on
the utility of the shorezone. 'The condition of the holding ground
and the material composition of the shoal bottom are of interest to

the navigator. Likewise, the near shore bottom type governs recreatiOnal

 

 

 

 

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use of 'the water. The relationship of the various materials of the
off shore area to each other may serve as an indication of the shore _
processes taking place. Scott8 has measured ice movement on the shore
by studying the tracks gouged in the beach by a boulder caught in the
shore ice and moved along by it. Boulder or cobble pavements either
on the surface or underlying sand deposits are indications of an ero-
sional process, of either continuous or seasonal nature. Gravel and
cobble ridges and cusps may be found on normally sand beaches during
the stormy season. Dominant materials, associations of materials,

and underlying materials should all be recorded in the inventory.

The mamic Influences of the Off Shore Zone.

Dynamic influences are included in this inventory not because
they must be recorded always or even in a majority of cases, but be-
cause a prograde or retrograde condition of the shore (discussed under
Beaches) may require an explanation of its cause or an estimate regard-
ing its continuation. Shore areas exhibiting abnormally high or low
waves relative to the average wave height along the shore should be
not ed as areas of convergence or divergence. Areas of convergence
would probably be associated with a considerable amount of erosion,
while divergences create optimum conditions for construction of piers
and handling of small craft. Of the many dynamic factors that may be
checked in a study of the shorezone, the height, direction of approach,
and the period of the waves are most important. ‘ The force contained
within a wave is directly proportional to its height and wavelength.
The period is the encpreasion of wavelength in terms of time. The di-
rection of approach of waves, combined with the height will give an

indication of the direction and velocity of the along-shore currents,

which account for the greater part of the mass transport along the

beaches. It is to be emphasized that the information on dynamic in-
fluences is of a mpplementary nature to be utilized in the solution
of definite problems and is not to be attempted unless such a prob-

lem presents itself.

THE SHORE OR BEACH.

The first dominant factor of the Beach zone is its presence
or absence and its width if present. The total absence of any beach
is a characteristic of the Pictured Books (See Photo #1). Broad, pro-
grading beaches are characteristic of certain portions of the Lake
Michigan shore of Emmet County (See Photo #2). Long time trends in
development of the beach can be determined from a comparison of widths
revealed by successive periodic measurements.

Coupled with the measurement of width is the estimation of
the process which the beach is undergoing. Stability, or prograde
or retrograde tendencies can be estimated with a fair degree of accur-
acy. A cut bluff without cover of trees or grass is quite probably
retrograde, while the same bluff, covered by a stand of trees is stable,
and has been for at least the life Span of those trees. (See Photos
#3 and #4.) Undermining of trees and rocks, or overriding of vegeta-
tion by beach deposits are all examples of retrograde motion (Photo #5).
Broad, extended flats lying below recent beach ridges, develOpment of
a new fore-dune ridge in front of an older one, and stream deltas rising
above the lake level are all signs of a prograding shore. A beach of
median width, lacking any sign of cutting on its landward side or ero-

sion or deposition on its seaward side may be considered stable. The

 

 

 

Photo #1.

The Pictured Rocks.

See pages 7 and 24 in text.

 

 

Photo #2.

A prograding snore in Emnett County. This is an example
of the effect of a periodic lowering of the lake level
upon an off shore terrace of extremely low slope. See

page '7 in text.

_ héfi -4

_‘_.-4 4--

:05».

 

Photo #3. The Grand Sable Banks, a former baymouth spit of the
Algonquin.Lake. New uplifted and subjected to wave sap-

ping, forming a cut bluff some 300 feet high.

_.' _....._ ______.... ___._4444_.__.__
\

.___ , .. 7.- l f_.. q. u. _ “7 7* _._,_d__._._._ _,_r _____ —. —

 

 

Photo #4. Sable'Point, west of Grand Sable Banks, showing relative

stabilization of the bluff in the distance, while the
water in the foreground is discolored with material in
suspension. This indicates active sapping in the area
toward the camera from.the bare strip on the bluff.-

Irregular tongues of discolored water are rips.

 

I
1

Photo #5. Ontonagon County. Dead trees in swash zone and on beach

together with undermined railroad at right indicate a

retrograde beach.

 

 

Photo #6. Cobble and boulder pavement on beach in Emmett County.
Low traffic utility to the bather, hiker, or person

beaching a boat is quite apparent.

 

 

Photo #7. Drift beach west of Manistique. The refuse from.a saws
mill has spoiled this otherwise excellent sandy beach

for bathers.

age of the vegetation on and above the beach is the best indicator
of stability.
The Materials of the Beach.

The materials of the beach are an important influence" as.to
its utilization. Cobble and Boulder pavements do not make for high
traffic utility. (See Photo #o.) Drift materials, such as the saw-
dust accumulated on the beach to the west of Manistique (See Photo #7.)
may make an otherwise desirable site untenable. As in the off shore
zone the dominant material, the associations of materials, and the
underlying material should all be known if possible. A sandy beach
with some gravel in association underlain by cobble pavement is a pos-
sible inventory of the materials of a beach, giving not only the tran-
sient character of the beach, but the basic character which will not
change over a considerable time. The transience of beach deposits
has been a matter of concern to cottagers and resort owners. A cot-
tags bought at the end of August, at the end of the calm summer sea-
son, may boast a fine sand beach. That beach may be completely torn.
out by the fall storms and not build back again until late in the
following summer. Sand beaches which are underlain at shallow depth
by boulder pavement or bedrock are to be suspect in this regard.
jllppe and Form of the Beach.

The lepe of the beach has one important sepect to the ri-
parian owner. With the periodic rise and fall of the levels of the
Great Lakes, beaches with a low slepe, both above and below the current
water line, will be subject to considerable migration of the water
line. At its highest level the water may be readily accessible to the

cottager. In low periods the shoreline may migrate seaward many hundreds

10

of feet, and a long walk over the exposed terrace would be necessary
to reach the water. The position of the shoreline on a flat-sIOped
lee ahore subject to wind tides would be most unpredictable, and the
Shore would be of low'utility as a recreational site. Thus the s10pe
_ of the beach becomes an.important consideration of the inventory.
Some notation should be made as to the beach forms present,
including both common.minor forms and atypical features, in order to
preperly evaluate the beach. Lagoons, dammed stream outlets, berms, .

scarps, and ice ramparts are examples of forms deserving inclusion -

within the study.

THI:COAST.

The Coast lies above the direct wash of the waves and cur-
rents, but it determines the dominant aSpect of the Shorezone. Although
it is, in itself, largely a product of those dynamic ferces which are
active on.the beach below, it is a major influence on the deveIOpment
of the shore. In an investigation ofthe land types associated with
the shores of the Great Lakes, eleven Coast Types emerged as being either
basic types or complexes which merited differentiation as basic types.
Coast Tmes.

The cliff and rocky bluff coast is typical of the Lake Super-
ior Shores of the Keweenaw Peninsula, the Pictured.Rocks, and the
Garden Peninsula. The low flat rocky shore, and rock ledge Coast is .
found in the vicinity of De Tour. The unconsolidated bluff coast occurs
at Empire, While Sleeping Bear Dune and Grand Sable Dune are perched
dunes above unconsolidated bluffs. Dune coasts are feund as the domi-

nant type from the Indiana State Line to Ludington. The plain coast

r o.‘ P. .‘

)ob

‘A-n‘
I

.. . -g--.,r. “A .. 94‘
l

 

 

 

 

Photo #8. Cecil Bay, Emmett County, a Marsh type shoreline. See
pages 10 and 23 in text, and illustration of its inventory

description on Shorezone Survey Form following page 20.

i‘.‘ ll“

 

 

 

11

is found in.many places along Lake Erie, while its complex form, with
superimposed relict beach ridges and low fore-dunesmay be seen near
Waugoshance Point. A Terrace Coast, with cut scarps and beach ter-
races of former higher levels of the lakes may be found in many places.
Areas having a fine development of the Nippising bench are near Char-
le'voix, Mackinaw City and Sault Ste. Marie. The Marsh Coast may be
found on the west shore ofTLake'Erie, in Saginaw Bay, or in less ex-
tensive stretches of the shores of all of the lakes. The illustra-
tion of‘MarSh type used in this paper was taken at Cecil Bay, west

of Mackinaw City. (See Photo #8.) The Delta Coast is a type created
to describe a unique situation-. It occurs on a large scale in but
one place, the St. Clair Flats. While it resembles the'MarSh type in
many respects its structure and its coastal configuration.make it
worthy of separate mention. The eleventh type is a category created
to cover areas not truly within the Sphere of this inventory. It is
the River Plain type, established to identify the shores of the con?

necting rivers of the Great Lakes.

Landface Characteristigg.

 

While these lend type designations give a broad picture of
the nature of theLCoast, two other factors of the landface are impor-
tant to the utilization of the Shorezone. 'They are the slope of the
landface and the height of the backland above the beach. These must
be determined together, as both are required to determine the accessi-
bility of the beach from.the backland. A.ten foot cliff with level
backland behind would be of more easy access than a twenty-five per-
cent lepe three hundred feet high. A.third component is a descrip-

tion of the cover of the landface (not of the backland) which can be

12

used as an index of stability.

m we meanwr

The basic inventory techniques should be the same for the
mapping of the shorezone as far other land type methods. Existing
. maps should be used wherever they are adequate for the task. Aerial
photographs, at a scale of not less than three inches to the mile,
are ideal for such work, while plane table methods may be used in the
absence of other maps or photos. The Shorezone mapper is concerned
with the factors lying seaward of the inner limit of the landface,
the system of inventory of the backland having been adequately devel-
oped in the various types of land surveys. Occupance factors which
occur within the shorezone, such as piers, Jetties, and breakwaters,
as well as highways leading down to the shore from.the backland, should
be mapped. The basic shorezone inventory Should be made concurrently
with the geographic survey of the shorezone. The shorezone should
be broken down into sectors of essential homogeniety, these sectors
delimited on.the base map, and numbered for identification. The facts
determined in the inventory should be recorded on a form provided for
the purpose and should be given a corresponding sector number. (See
form at end of inventory.)

The following pages are concerned with a detailed presen-
tation of the inventory system, by digits and components, dealing with
the complete description of the physical and dynamic features of the

shorezone.

13

BASIC SIC RELINE INVEQ'IORY

FIRST prom. ran on more:

 

 

”MW*

1. Numerical: Syste .

EstabliSh distances to one and five fathom.depths in

feet thus: 50/300. Add as superscript number of bars

Shallower than six feet which lie beyond the inner one

fathom curve. Thus: 50/ 30002.

11., Complex System. (Alternatgvg).

Type Number.

1) No terrace. Deep water at shore.

2) Narrow terrace. Less than 50 feet to one fathom
curve.

3) 'Narrow terrace. Less than 100 feet.

4) medium.terrace. 100 to 300 feet.

5) IMedium terrace. 300 to 500 feet

6) Broad terrace. 500 to 1000 feet.

7) Broad terrace. 1000 to 2500 feet.

8) ‘Very broad terrace. 2500 feet and over.

A) Under 50 feet to five fathom curve.

B) 50 to 100 feet.

C) 100 to 200 feet.

D) 200 to 500 feet.

E) 500 to 1000 feet.

F) 1000 to 2500 feet.

G) 2500 to 5000 feet.

14

H) 5000 to 10,000 feet.

I) Over 10,000 feet.

NOTE: Read Complex thus: 3D2'means 50 to 100 feet to one

FIRST prom.

 

fathom curve. 200 to 500 feet to five fathom curve.
Superscript 2 indicates two bars less than one fathom

in depth beyond the first one fathom curve.

Second ngponent. Protectig§_Factgr.

1)

2)

3)

4)

5)

6)

7)

8)

*)

Exposed position, eXposed to wave attack from prevail-
ing wind direction of the stormy season.

Open position, not exposed to wave attack from the pre-
vailing wind direction of the stormy season.

Broad embayment, providing some protection from.storm
waves, and permitting limited divergence of waves.
Narrow embayment, providing considerable protection from
storm waves and permitting great divergence of waves.
Protected coast, under lee of barrier or island.
Landlocked harbor.

Use this symbol for local zones of great convergence
of waves.

USe this symbol for local zones of great divergence or
canyon effect.

Directly open to wave attack of stormy season. To

modify 3 or A.

Third Component. ‘Materials 2: the Off Shore Area.

If symbols are coupled, these types are combined at this

15

station. The type which is listed first predominates. If
symbols are written as a ‘fraction, the lower symbol under-

lies the upper.

a) Sand. h) Organic Bottom.

o) Coarse Sand. 3) Igneous and Metamorphic Rock.
b) Gravel . k) Sand stone.

c) Cobbles. l) Limestone.

d) Boulders. m) Shale.

e) Rock Shingle. n) Drift Material.

f) Clay. 8) Shells.

g) Marl.

Fourth Component. Dynamic Influences.
E313 Direction. If facing the sea, a breaking wave strikes
the coast first to your right, use the symbol R. If break-
ing wave strikes first to your left, use symbol L. If approach
is normal, use symbol N. If there is an interference pattern,
use symbol I.

have height. Estimate height of waves and record value in

 

feet.

Current Direction. If facing the sea, current moves to your
right, use symbol R. If current moves to your left, use
symbol L. If there is a rip, use symbol V and if there is
no observable current, use symbol 0.

Current Velocity. The distance a float will travel in feet
in the span of one minute is equal to the current velocity

in hundreths of a knot. (Drift of 100 feet in one minute

16

equals velocity of one knot.)

Wave Period. Determine time in seconds between passage of

 

crests. Record 12 second interval as T12.
Material Ln Suspension. A. Bottom visible in more than
6 feet of water. B. Bottom not visible at 6 feet.

C. Bottom not visible at one foot.

l7

sworn DIGIT. mm BEACH.

 

First Compgnent. Width 93 Beach.

 

I.

II.

Give width of the beach in feet from low water mark to the
highest level reached by storm waves or ice action. If no
beach is present use zero.
Give estimate of present process.
P. Pregrading Shoreline.
R. Retrograde Shoreline.
S. Stable Shoreline.
T. Shoreline stabilized by engineering works.
* Subject to ice action.
mm: Write out component thus: 2.5?” - 25 foot beach
width, prograding, starred for evidence of ice

action.

Second Component . Mat erial s.

 

a)
0)
b)

c)
d)

I)

*)

I Fine Sand. 6) Rock Shingle. k) Sandstone.
Coarse Sand. f) Clay. 1) Limestone.
Gravel. g) Marl. m) Shale.

Cobbles. h) Organic. 11) Drift Material.
Boulders. j) Igneous Rock. 8) Shells.

If x is used after j, k, l, or m, broken talus blocks are
in the wave washed zone.

If second component is starred, vegetation is growing in '
the wave washed zone. This is to be differentiated from

tme swamp or marsh conditions.

If symbols are coupled, these types are combined at this sta-

tion. The type which is given first predominates. If symbols

are written as a fraction, the lower symbol underlies the upper.
Third Component. Beach SIOpe and Beach Formg.

1) Less than 1% slope of the beach in the wave washed zone.

2) 1% to 2%
3) 2% to 3%
4) 3% to 4%
5) 4% to 5%
6) 5% to 7%
7) 7% to 9%
8) 9% to 1.2%
9) 1% to 15%

10) Over 15%
a) Berm present.
b) Multiple berm.
0) Cut scarp in beach materials. (This is predicated on pres-
ence of berm.)
d) Lagoon present behind beach.
9) Damned stream outlet.

f) Open stream outlet.

NOTE: Add other beach forms as they occur.

19

THIRD EIGIT. THE COAST.

First Comm nent. The Coast Type.

1)
2)
3)
z.)

32.)
5)

55)

6)
7)

8)
9)

Cliff and Rocky Bluff Coast.

Low Flat Rocky, or Rock Ledge Coast.

Unconsolidated Bluff Coast.

Dune Coast.

Perched Dune Coast

Plain Coast. Low relatively featureless former lake bed.
Relict Beach Ridge Coast. Beach ridges and foredune ridges
on plain.

Terrace Coast. Cut scarps and abrasion platforms of former
high levels of the water plane.

Marsh Coast.

Delta Coast.

River Plain. A special category applied to areas bordering

connecting rivers of the Great Lakes.

Second Component. Slope 93 Landface and Height 93 Backland.

A)
B)
0)
D)
E)

F)

G)
l)

2)

No SlOpe, plain at water level.

0 to 2%% s10pe. (Flat)

2% to 735% slope. (Gently Sloping)

732* to 15% slepe. (Moderately SIOping)

15 to 25% slope. (Strongly Sloping)

25 to 75% slope. (Steeply Sloping, 75% is angle of repose

of dune sand.)

Over 79% slope. (Bluff and cnrr Slopes)

0 to 5 feet from highest beach level to elevation of backland.

5 to 25 feet.

3) 25 to 50 feet.
A.) 50 to 100 feet.
5) 100 to 330 feet.
0) 200 to 300 feet.
'7) 300 to 400 feet.
a) 400 to 500 feet.
9) 500 feet and over.
Third Component. Landface Cover m.
a) 'Upland Timber (height, type, density).
b) BruShland.
c) Grassland.
d) Marsh (rushes, sedges, bluejoint, etc.).
e) Bog (leatherleaf, bog rosemary; Labrador tea, blueberry, etc.).
f) SwamP (cedar, tamarack, spruce, hardwoods).

x) No cover.

S VEY REPORT FORM: SIIOREZOIJ'E IZ‘W’ERI‘ORY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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SURVEYOR:

 

DATE:

 

£3

M’PLICATIOI‘E 91 THE BASIC I1‘TVE-P1‘ORY 29 SHORE/:0 NE CLASSIFICATION

 

 

 

In the determination of the elements selected for the system
of inventory given on the preceding pages, every effort was made to
preserve scientific objectivity. In certain cases, where a variety of
methods of presentation of the same data were possible, the method
used was arbitrarily selected on the basis of the broadest utility of
the term. Thus, in the case of the<3ff Shore shelf, its nature was
expressed in distances to important controlling depths rather than as
degrees or percent of $1099 or as a ratio. The terms used in each
case are given in such form that they'may be converted into means of
expression suited to a given classification without loss in essential
accuracy.

The requirements of three types of classification were anti-
cipeted in selecting the elements of the inventory. They are: l) Physio-
graphic or Geomorphological classification, 2) classification of types
of utility of an economic, social, or military nature, and 3) classi-
fication of process problems of shore protection. Selected components
from the inventory will satisfy the requirements of each of these classi-
fications. In general, the requirements of these classifications tend
to increase in the order in which they are given above. In a purely
geologic classification only the basic form, the material composition,
and an indication of process are needed.. To this the land use classi-
fication adds the utility factors of protection, stability and accessi-
bility. The classification of process problems requires a further
intimate development of the dynamic factors of the Snore processes.

The creation of shorezone types which consist of groups of

associated features, which permit prediction in terms of future process
and utility, is a prerequisite to planning the use of the shorezones
of the Great Lakes.

Natural associations of shore features may be generally grouped
under one or another of the eleven Coast types given in the inventory.
These establiSh the dominant aspect of the shore. Subdividing these
broad types according to the beach forms associated with them provides
the planner with a physical shorezone type, but the factor of predicta-
bility in terms of process and utility is still missing. The stability
factor, the protection factor, and in some cases the evaluation of the
specific dynamic process, must be used to predict the long time process
of the shore. The factor of accessibility, both from.the land and from
the sea completes the picture in terms of utility. A minimum of seven
of the factors given in the inventory will be required to make a valid
classification of this nature. In their order as they appear in the
inventory, they are: the Off Shore slope, the protection factor, the
width of the beach, the stability of the beach, the materials of the
beach, the Coast type and the lepe and height of the landface.

The factors which will not appear in the classification but
Which are necessary to the solution of process problems are: direction
of wave approach, wave height, current direction and velocity, wave
period, the slope of the off shore terrace and the beach, and the micro-

forms of the beach which are significant to the process.

EMOPLE‘NI‘ pg; SPECIFIC Time _I_I‘j_ ILLUSTRATION.

 

 

While it is not the purpose of this paper to classify the

shores of the Great Lakes, but rather to provide the raw materials

from Which such a classification could be made, a number of types selected
at random from the shorelines of the upper lakes are presented here as
an illustration of the use to which this inventory may be put.

The Cecil Bay Shorezone type is found on the shore of the
straits of’Mackinac, in Section 28, hawatam Township, Emmet County.
It is eaown in.Photo #8, and its inventory description is given as
example #1 on the Survey Report Form following page 20. It is a.MarSh
type Shorezone. It has a broad Off Shore shelf, five hundred to one
thousand feet to the one fathom curve, and twentyafive hundred to five
thousand feet to the five fathom.curve. It is in a broad embayment
which does not lie open to the prevailing wave direction of the stormy
season. The bay has a bottom of fine sand underlain at little depth
by cobbles. The dynamic factors were measured, although such would
not often be the case in such a protected area. The waves were approach-
ing the Shorezone sector from.the northwest and were one foot high.
There was a distinct alongshore current to the east moving at the vel-
ocity of .18 knots. The wave period was four seconds. The water was
clear, the bottom being visible in more than six feet of water. No
strand has been developed between.the marsh and the open water and wave
action is so slight at the marsh border that considerable accumulation
of decayed vegetation is found along the shore indicating a slight pro-
grade tendency; The material of the beach is largely organic. {There
is less than 1% lepe of the beach in the wave washed zone. 'The Coast
is of the Marsh type with flat lepe and less than five feet vertical
interval between the level of the shore and the level of the backland.

This is a shore type of limited utility. It is not stable.

It has a very low lepe which makes it susceptible to flooding during

24

the periodic high water stages. It is in a protected position but has
at times been subjected to heavy scouring action (indicated by the
underlying cobble pavement). Accessibility from the seaward side is
very limited while that from the land would be adequate. The Cecil
Bay type would be a subdivision of the'Marsh type, having indications
of being unstable, of limited accessibility, and of low utility.

The Pictured Rocks type presents an almost complete reversal
of conditions. JHere there is no significant Off Shore shelf, the one
fathom.curve being within a few yards of the shoreline and the five
fathom.curve often within five hundred feet of shore. The shore is
an exposed one subjected to the pounding of the northwest storms. The
beach is non-existent. The Coast type is a high rocky cliff. The
height to the backland is in the order of several hundred feet in many
places. The trees growing in crevices of the cliff (See Photo #1)
are indicative of its stability; Here the water depth is not a limit-
ing factor in navigation to the shore. iHowever, even if the shore would
permit landing of vessels the protection factors would have an adverse
effect. Accessibility to the shore from the backland is almost impos-
sible. ,Here is a Shore of high stability, low protection, and low util-
ity, except as a scenic area.

Contrasting with the Pictured Rocks type are two other Rock
Cliff types, the Marquette type (Photo #9) and the Burnt Bluff type
(Photo #10). The Marquette type is an igneous rock cliff capped by
sandstone. There is considerably greater dissection of the cliff by
gullies, and the wave washed zone, (there is yet no beach deveIOped)
has numerous talus blocks and large boulders. Accessibility from.the

sea is the same as in the case of the Pictured.Rocks while accessibility

25

from.the backland is perhaps a little better. There would probably

be greater recreational utility in the case of the Marquette type than
would be true of the Pictured Rocks type. The Burnt Bluff type is

a limestone cliff with a boulder beach developed beneath it. Shoal
conditions prevailing off shore make the approach difficult, while

the cliffs are breached at intervals to permit access to the backland
from.the beach. Traffic along the beach is restricted by the size

of the boulders but the recreational utility is higher than that of

the other two cliff types.

A contrasting shore of high utility as a recreational site
might be the.Harrisville Type, found along considerable stretches of
the Lake Huron Shore. The backland is a low wooded plain. It has a
broad Off Shore shelf, five hundred feet to the one fathom line and
four thousand feet to the five fathom line. It is on a straight coast
and on the windward side of the lake with relation to the prevailing
winds. Its Off Shore materials are largely sand. It has a stable
beach of sand which averages one hundred feet wide. The beach lepe
varies up to 4%. The Coast type is low, relatively flat former lake
plain. The slepe of the landface is less than 7%}; and the height of
the backland averages less than twentybfive feet above the level of the
beach. The inventory description is given as example #2 on the Survey
Report Form.following page 20. While the broad.0ff Shore shelf may
restrict the utility of the site as a port area, the wide area avail-
able for bathers and the effect of the shoal conditions on the height
of the breakers enhances its value as a recreational site. Sand beaches

and ease of accessibility also add to recreational utility.

Other types may be developed in a similar manner. The Brevort

 

Photo #9. Presque Isle, Marquette. Rock Cliff type without beach

and with talus blocks in the wave washed zone.

.__.____._ ._.___—- *«fi

 

Photo #10.

Burnt Bluff, near Fayette, Delta County; A.Rocky Cliff

Coast type, of‘Niagara.Limestone, with development of
boulder'beach. Nete that the boulders still retain their
angularity and have therefore not been transported far

frmm their source.

 

Photo #11.

 

Dune type of’Coast west of St. Ignace. Broad sand beach,
well deveIOped foredune ridge and low dunes to right of

road.

 

 

Photo #12. lAn example of a Shelving rock beach, proving that all

rock coasts need not be rugged, nor of low accessibility.

 

 

._ — w..- _._.-._.__q

Photo #13. An example of a “pocket beach” with the sandy bayhead

beach in the foreground and the rocky shore of the
headland in the background.

‘Y‘J ~ ' " e‘?

g: . -.. .‘ I ‘1 _ . is; ' ‘ l
"4.#.‘[' '- u'dhp. .' i b-w~— ". ’
> ‘ h . x J ._ ‘ ‘I' .“
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9)." ,

 

 

 

‘Photc #14. Gravel cusps on a sand beach. .An atypical condition of
short duration, generally occurring during the stormy

spring and fall months.

 

Photo #15. .An example of a stabilized cobble beach in the fbreground

with an actively retrograding cut bluff in the background.

26

type is a subtype of the Dune shorezone. It has a broad Off'Shore shelf,
sandy beach, good development of a foredune ridge and low dunes on a

low landface and backland. (See Photo #11.) The De Tour type is a vari-
ety of Rock Ledge shorezone. A.low flat coast underlain at shallow depth
by limestone which comes to the surface at the coastline and is largely
exposed on the beach. (See Photo #12.) Other types may be complexes

as is the case of the "pocket beach" type. Here, there is develOpment

of shall but good sand beaches at the head of small bays that indent a
rocky coast. The points and stretches of shore between bays may be rock
shelf or even cliffs, but the bays having greater protection from waves
and alongshore currents develop broad beaches and are highly suitable-.
for recreational use. (See Photo le.)

In the inventory it is necessary to exercise good judgment as
to the permanence of features described. Thus, gravel cusps on a sand
beach Which result from a period of high waves from a given direction,
and Which are a temporary condition, should not be mapped the same as a
gravel beach, as the permanent or predictable situations would be at great
variance from.each other and this would destroy the validity of a shore-
zone type. (See Photo #14.) In the location of boundaries between
sectors the point chosen for the separation of two types Should be where
factors of the highest order change. 'Thus, a change in the Coast type
or a change in process should be followed rather than a change in beach
materials or the factors of accessibility. This is illustrated in Photo $15.
The boulder beach in the fereground indicates a relatively stable condi-
tion, While the Shore in the background is definitely retrograde. The

sector line Should be drawn at the end of the cobble beach.

27

 

In the past the shorezone has been treated by the planner and
conservationist as the water margin of the land types. In few cases has
the land type mapper done more than to stop his delineations at the
shore. It is to be seen.that the shorezone is not the mere end of the
land but is a separate entity in itself, to be considered by the planner
together with the rest of the landscape, but having its own physiographic
forms and dynamic processes as means of evaluation. The classification
of the Shorezone must be in terms of types Which can be related to its
conservation and utilization, but the factors governing use are physio-
graphic and dynamic. The creation of such classifications depends upon
the existence of good factual data, which is derived only from a thorough
and precise inventory.

The inventory here presented will provide the information re—
quired by the planner in the development of shorezone types, tOgether
with basic facts required in the solution of problems involving snore
stability or change. In.presenting the problem of shorezone change,
and outlining an approach to classification through inventory, this paper
provides a point of departure for the planner in the field of shorezone

conservation.

Refraction

Convergence

Divergence

Orthogonal

Prograde

Retrograde

Cusp

Berm

Mass'Transport

Lee Shore

Windward Shore

Pocket Beach

Strand

28

GLO SSARY pg; TERMS

The bending of wave crests related to changes in
the depth of the water.

The bending of crests inward upon a point of COD?
centration.

The bending of crests outward in an eXQanding curve.
Lines at right angles to, and delimiting sections
of the wave crests.

A seaward extension of the land surface.

A landward extension of the water surface.

A microform of the shore having a triangular or
toothlike projection toward the sea.

A nearly horizontal formation along the beach
caused by deposit of material under the influence
of the waves.

Referring to the preponderant movement of materials
along the beach.

That Shore toward which the wind is blowing and
upon which the waves expand their force.

The shore from which the wind is blowing, having
characteristicly low waves and little erosion.

A beach located at the head of a bay Whose head-
lands are of rocky cliff or bluff type.

A constructional or depositional feature of the
foreshore or swash zone. Often built in front

of:marSh Shores by wave and current action.

Alongshore Current A current flowing parallel to the shoreline.

Rip

SwaSh Zone

Back Shore

A.surface current flowing seaward at a 90° angle
to the shoreline.

Or ForeShore; That portion of the beach lying be-
tween the low water mark and.the highest point
reached by the uprush of the-waves breaking upon
the shore.

That portion of the Shore reached by waves during

exceptional storms only, or subject to ice action.

2.

3.

5.

'7.

BI ELI O GPJAPHY

"Interim Report of the Beach Erosion Board," 1933, Office of the

Chief of Engineers.

"Land Classification in the United States," National Resources

Planning Board, 191.1, Page 87.

The California Beaches Association was founded in 1931. with the

objective of leasing the oil resources under the sea; the royb

alties of petroleum production were to be ear-marked for the

purpose of purchase of recreational sites along the coast. See

"California Beaches" issues for April, 1935 thru November, 1935.

J. H. C. Martens, "The Beaches of Florida," Twenty-first - Twenty-

second Annual Report of the Florida State GeolOgical Survey, 1931.

D. W. Johnson, ”Snore Processes and Shoreline Development,” New

York, John Wiley and Sons Inc., 1919.

F. P. Shepard, "Submarine Geology,” now in manuscript form.
"Classification of Marine Shorelines,” Journal of

Geology, Vol. 1.6, No. '7, October-November 1938.

"Interim Report of the Beach Erosion Board," 1933, Section 1/8.

I. D. Scott, "Inland Lakes of’Michigan," Michigan Geological and

Biological Survey. Annual Report of the Board, 1920, Page 248.

Y

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268