Coast and Beach

The coast and beach, where the continents meet the sea, are dynamic environments where agents of erosion vie with processes of deposition to produce a set of features reflecting their complex interplay and the influences of changes in sea level, climate, sediment supply, etc. "Coast" usually refers to the larger region of a continent or island that is significantly affected by its proximity to the sea, whereas "beach" refers to a much smaller region, usually just the areas directly affected by wave action.