Why is wildwood beach so big

The north jetty traps sand on its north side — the Wildwood side — while starving beaches further south. Meanwhile, eroding sand from barrier islands Avalon and Stone Harbor, located north of Wildwood, is naturally funneled into Hereford Inlet.

The upsides Wildwood is the only island in New Jersey not threatened with shoreline retreat, which means more room to play. For one of these, beach camping, participants are advised to bring large plastic sleds for lugging equipment across the sand without tiring. This past summer, country star Tim McGraw played to a crowd of 30, on the beach.

In , Kenny Chesney performed for 20, Each concert raises tens of thousands of dollars for the city. The annual Race of Gentlemen, in which classic cars race along the shoreline, happens in October, while the annual Jeep Invasion puts nearly 2, vehicles and an obstacle course on the sand in June. Even for those not seeking a special event but, rather, a run-of-the-mill beach day, the extra space can be a bonus. More beach means more to maintain for the city, and more to trek across for beachgoers, which can be offputting for the elderly and large families.

Ingesting this water is probably not fatal, but it will definitely make you feel crappy for a while. The solution City officials have been battling with the storm drain-blocking sand for years, digging it out with industrial equipment on a daily basis, and coming up with creative solutions.

The method, called backpassing, was not a permanent solution — wave action has already reblocked the drains. This will lead to a pump station in on Leaming Avenue near the boardwalk that will suck the water out of the pipe and into the ocean, eliminating the flooding issue.

I was going to Washington and Trenton, and I was told there was nothing they could do for me — all the money was designated for towns with not enough sand, not too much. He told me we were going to get a solution, and I told him I hope so, because talk is cheap. The images above, captured by Landsat satellites, show 33 years of shoreline change at the southern tip of New Jersey.

The first left image was acquired by Landsat 5 on July 26, ; the second image shows the same area on July 20, The changes in color are due to variations in the satellite imagers and in the light reflecting off the land and water.

However, vegetation cover also appears to have changed over the years. Sand naturally moves south-southwest along this stretch of the coast due to processes such as longshore drift. Evidence of this appears in the changing of the spit northeast of Hereford Inlet; in the retreating shore of North Wildwood; and widening beach in Wildwood and near the jetty.

Then engineers built a jetty to protect the inlet; it reaches 4, feet 1, meters into the Atlantic Ocean. About a decade later, developers working in Wildwood built a causeway across Turtle Gut Inlet , restricting natural tidal flow to a point where the inlet filled in and eventually became another source of sand for the beach.

With both projects, humans changed the natural movement of sand along the shore, building up Wildwood and starving Cape May of replenishing sand. Humans have had to take over the job that nature once did.

Back in Wildwood, the beaches keep growing and the town keeps making the most of it. The area hosts some of the largest kite and frisbee festivals in the country, and more than 20, to 30, people have attended country music concerts on the sand in the past decade. The vast stretch of sand is less appealing to the elderly and people with wheelchairs and other mobility challenges.

Another concern is occasional flooding. Because the sand stands several feet higher than the storm drains in some parts of town, temporary ponds can form in the midst of the beach. Though an idea to shuttle people to the water line via camel was nixed by the town years ago, some people ease the trip by summoning an all-terrain beach taxi or by using a sled to drag their beach gear.

Most just enjoy the extremely walkable sand and the fantastic body surfing in the water. Geological Survey. View this area in EO Explorer. Image of the Day Water Human Presence.

The supply of sediment is gradually diminishing under the combined pressure of human and natural causes.