Dunes nearer the ocean

Figure 8. Vegetation holds these dunes in place against strong ocean winds. (Photograph by the author. More about the photograph)

Figure 8 shows the Bear Island dunefield nearer the ocean than those shown in previous photographs and also closer to the inlet that separates Bear Island from Bogue Banks. Bogue Banks, our next stop on this field trip, is a developed barrier island, as you can see from the outlines of houses and condominium complexes on the horizon. For the time being, however, we will focus on Bear Island and the smaller and more heavily vegetated dunes behind the ocean beach.

These dunes are subjected to stronger winds than the taller ones further inland, so they must be vegetated or they would blow away during storms. Sometimes that happens, as we will soon see, but those here have borne the brunt of winds from Hurricanes Dennis and Floyd with relatively little damage.

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