Sandbar

A sandbar is an elongated ridge of sand sitting just offshore, shaped and reshaped by currents, storms, and tides. At a beach break, the location and contour of the sandbar determines where waves will break and whether they will peel or close out. Good sandbars produce defined A-frame peaks with workable shoulders. Bad sandbars produce closeouts and walls with no rideable face. Sandbars can change overnight after a big swell and often behave on a seasonal cycle as fall and winter storms sculpt winter bars that flatten out by summer.