Which feature is created from the interaction of waves and the beach environment?

The interaction of waves and the beach environment primarily leads to the process known as littoral drift. This term refers to the movement of sand and sediment along the shoreline due to the action of waves approaching the beach at an angle. When waves break on the shore, they carry sediment up the beach with the swash (the water that rushes up the beach after a wave breaks), and then gravity pulls the water back down the slope of the beach, leading to the process of sediment transport along the coast. This movement helps shape and maintain the beach environment over time. Littoral drift is critical in understanding coastal dynamics and erosion patterns.

Barrier islands, fiord coasts, and coastal wetlands, while significant coastal features, are not directly the result of the interaction between waves and the beach in the same manner. Barrier islands are typically formed by the accumulation of sand deposited by wave action but represent stable landforms rather than a dynamic transport process. Fiord coasts are steep, U-shaped valleys created by glacial activity, and coastal wetlands are ecosystems found at the intersection of land and aquatic environments, which can be affected by waves but are not formed by wave interactions alone.