Which area is the high-tide portion of the beach?

• A. Foreshore
• B. Berm
• C. Backshore
• D. Beach face

Answer: (C)

Beaches are divided into zones by how often they get wet during the tidal cycle. The line where high tide reaches marks the boundary between the backshore and the foreshore. The area above this high-tide line stays dry during normal tides, and that dry zone is the backshore. It often includes features like a berm, which is a raised ridge formed near the high-tide line. The foreshore, by contrast, lies between the high-tide and low-tide lines and is regularly wetted by waves, while the beach face is the sloping section down toward the water that is reshaped by wave action. So the high-tide portion of the beach, the part that remains dry at typical high tides, is the backshore.