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 2 There are actually many parts to a beach. Sand dunes Upper beach
Lower beach
The bottom of the beach
This is the part that is closest to the sea.
It is uncovered for only a short time. It is also nearly flat. This means that, even when the tide is out, water is only just below the surface. It is also a very windswept place. People may play games on this part of the beach, because there are fewer people about, but they do not usually want to sit on the cold, wet sand.
The low part of the beach often contains wavy ridges – called ripples – made by waves as they move over flat sand.
The back of the beach
If a wind blows onshore at low tide, it will carry sand from the beach onto the land. Here it may be trapped by plants. In this way, hills of sand called sand dunes build up in the middle of many bays (picture 3).
 3 Coastal sand dunes give good protection to the land close to the shore. If the plants are killed, the sand is more easily blown about and the dunes may be lost. This is why dunes need to be fenced off to protect the plants if there are many holidaymakers about.
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Waves at high tide
Beach sand
Waves at low tide
High tide Low tide