strandline
High tide edge
A strandline is the line of debris—seaweed, shells, driftwood, plastic—left on a beach by the high tide.
The word combines strand (an old word for shore) with line.
Geologists also use it for ancient shorelines now visible as ridges or terraces inland: The strandline marked where the prehistoric lake once stood.
Sea-delivered shore lumber
- wrackDestruction or marine debris
- seaweedSaltwater aquatic plants
- flotsamDebris from wrecked vessels
- jetsamGoods deliberately discarded at sea
kelp · shells · cuttlebone · buoys · ambergris · coral · barnacles · rope
Sandy waterside margin
- littoralRelating to seashores
- foreshoreIntertidal coastal zone
- duneWind-formed sand ridge
- sandFine rock particles
shingle · bay · cove · estuary · lagoon · spit · coastal · maritime
Gradual retreat seaward
- neapTide of least range
- tidemarkHighest flood level indicator
- waterlineLevel water reaches
- surgeSudden powerful increase
lunar · currents · inundation · drift · swash · berm · seasonal · depositional
Loose waste from decay
- amphipodsSmall laterally-flattened crustaceans
- isopodsEqual-footed crustacean order
- beetlesHard-winged insects
- invertebratesAnimals without vertebral columns
microhabitats · decomposition · biodegradation · scavengers · shorebirds · crustaceans · mollusks · ecotone
driftwood
Sea-delivered shore lumber
jetsam · kelp · shells · cuttlebone · buoys · ambergris · coral · barnacles · rope · netting
beach
Sandy waterside margin
sand · shingle · bay · cove · estuary · lagoon · spit · coastal · maritime · intertidal
ebb
Gradual retreat seaward
surge · lunar · currents · inundation · drift · swash · berm · seasonal · depositional · successive
detritus
Loose waste from decay
- amphipodsSmall laterally-flattened crustaceans
- isopodsEqual-footed crustacean order
- beetlesHard-winged insects
invertebrates · microhabitats · decomposition · biodegradation · scavengers · shorebirds · crustaceans · mollusks · ecotone · habitat
strandlinelow-water mark
Lowest tidal reach
low tide line · waterline · chart datum · tideline · water's edge
strandlineopen sea
Waters beyond coastlines
deep water · offshore · hinterland · inland · backshore
strandlinesurf zone
Nearshore breaking wave area
intertidal zone · offshore · deep water · open water · seabed
line, strand, stranded, shoreline, coastline, strands, stranding, tideline