Introduction

Cape Henry, Virginia, is a strand plain constructed through progradation of the shoreline into the adjacent Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean (see location map and aerial photo below). A typical strand plain consists of a series of beach ridges and intervening swales. Each ridge marks the location of a berm and foredune system that was once adjacent to the beach. Differences in ridge orientation indicate that there have been two major phases of shoreline progradation interrupted by a period of severe coastal erosion (Fisher, 1967; Whittecar, 1982, 1984). Each of the two major parts of the strand plain comprise 3-4 sets of beach ridges with minor differences in orientation, indicating subtle changes in the sediment regime (Fisher, 1967, white dotted lines on aerial photo). In addition, the Cape Henry ridges are capped in places by 4 sets of larger dunes (Fisher, 1967), some of which are quite large and have migrated some distance from the shoreline. The dunes are currently stabilized by vegetation, although some have been active during historical times (Latrobe, 1895).