BARRIER ISLAND Definition & Meaning

barrier island

a broadened barrier beach, habitable in places, that provides a measure of protection for the mainland, as during hurricanes and tidal waves.

barrier island

A long, narrow sand island that is parallel to the mainland and serves to protect the coast from erosion. Barrier islands typically have dunes along the exposed outer side, zones of vegetation in the interior, and swampy areas along the inner lagoon.

barrier island

Any low sandy island that is parallel to the mainland and protects it from storms. (See Cape Hatteras.)

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Barrier islands normally change location every ten to thirty years, a fact that makes coastline management a major problem in environmental policy.

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Examples have not been reviewed.

Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key — a barrier island near Sarasota — around 8:30 p.m.

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Milton made landfall at around 8:30 pm near Siesta Key, Florida, a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Sarasota.

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I recently had a pretty special experience with friends, cooking on the barrier islands, off the coast of North Carolina.

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It is a tiny barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico about three miles south of Mobile Bay.

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Investigators concluded that an 11th person who disappeared in 2010 from the barrier island community of Oak Beach had accidentally drowned.

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