What is "foredune"

n. (context geography English) A kind of dune ridge that runs parallel to the shore of a body of water.

A foredune is a dune ridge that runs parallel to the shore of an ocean, lake, bay, or estuary. Foredunes consist of sand deposited by wind on a vegetated part of the shore. Foredunes can be classified generally as incipient or established.

Foredunes may begin as shadow dunes that form in the wind shadows of clumps of vegetation. Several shadow dunes may eventually join to form an incipient foredune. When an incipient foredune reaches a height of about , it has a significant wind shadow of its own. Wind-blown sand will tend to fall on this incipient dune rather than traveling further inland. When a foredune becomes high, it may trap all of the wind-blown sand from the beach.

In active dune systems, the foredunes appear closest to the sea or other body of water. However, some dune systems, such as those on eroding coasts, do not have foredunes. In those systems, other kinds of dunes may be closest to the water. A foredune ecosystem begins with the first dune ridge directly behind an active beach. The ridge of a foredune can range in height from a few meters to tens of meters tall. Foredunes are formed when sand accumulates and wind actively transforms the landscape. This results in sand sheets can consuming in-land ecosystems. United States Fish and Wildlife Service actively manages Humboldt Bay’s Lanphere Dunes. Active sand sheets at Lanphere Dunes have been measured to be in excess of six hundred meters.