EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -A barrier island is a constantly changing deposit of sand that forms parallel to the coast. Satellite image of Cape Hatteras National Seashore on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Credit: NASA’s Earth Observatory. Barrier islands form as waves repeatedly deposit sediment parallel to the shoreline.

Detailed explanation-2: -There are five barrier islands (from west to east: Coney, Long Beach, Jones, Fire and Westhampton) and two spits (Rockaway and Southampton). Six openings or tidal inlets separate the barriers and connect the bays with the ocean.

Detailed explanation-3: -Bordered by the Laguna Madre to the west and the Gulf of Mexico to the east, Padre Island stretches for 113 miles down the southern Texas coastline. It’s the world’s longest barrier island, and home to a bustling resort community as well as habitat for 16 wildlife species with federal or state conservation status.

Detailed explanation-4: -Padre Island, 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.