Why are there bars at the river entrance

[tudorsailor]

I am reading about various south coast anchorages in my newly bought South West Cruising guide. It got me wondering why so many rivers have a bar across their mouth.

Can someone explain how they arise but are so constant

Thanks

TudorSailor

 

[huzar30]

Silt is washed down by rivers. River meets sea, current slows down, silt deposited.

 

[mikehibb]

Silt is washed down by rivers. River meets sea, current slows down, silt deposited.

Yep, what Huzar said.

Plus look here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoal

 

[tudorsailor]

Yep, what Huzar said.

Plus look here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoal

Ah wonderful wiki has it all. I should have search using a different term. Who puts this stuff on the site???

Thanks

TudorSailor

 

[Mandarin331]

Silt is washed down by rivers. River meets sea, current slows down, silt deposited.

Speaking from an East Coasters point of view...apart from the silt from the river (which is largely mud on the East Coast) one of the major factors is coastal drift, this sweeps sand along the beach and across the river mouth, with the tendency to block the river completely, with the river flow trying to clear a channel. This is why all Easy coast bars (and Spurn point on the humber) connect with the land on the North with the river exiting towards the South.

 

[jbweston]

Ah wonderful wiki has it all. I should have search using a different term. Who puts this stuff on the site???

Thanks

TudorSailor

'Who puts this stuff on the site' ?

Well. I'm sure you know something that other people would like to be able to find out. Why not put something about it on Wikipedia?

It's easy. Don't worry if you aren't a great writer, or even if you don't know everything there is to know about the subject. As long as you aren't deliberately misleading, other users will soon edit and improve what you write. If you are deliberately misleading, then they'll probably correct you pretty quickly.

Personally I think Wikipedia is one of the great inventions of the last century. Not the individual items on Wikipedia, because they vary in comprehensiveness and accuracy. But the system that allows anyone to write and then the piece gets peer edited and improved repeatedly until few further improvements are necessary is a brilliant invention.

 

[Baggywrinkle]

Nonsense ... it's for economic reasons ...

There are so many bars found at the mouths of rivers because that was where the cargos were unloaded from barges and put onto ships and vice-versa.

Obviously the sailors, bargemen and workers needed somewhere to drink so bars were opened by enterprising locals.