Recent History and Response Characteristics of Wachapreague Inlet, Virginia.

Wachapreague Inlet, a large downdrift offset inlet in the barrier island complex of the mid-Atlantic coast Delmarva peninsula, was studied during the period 1971-1974. The inlet channel width is about 500 m and the throat cross-sectional is about 4,500 m2. The inlet channel is about 3 km in length, approximately one-half of which is within the well-developed horseshoe shaped ebb delta complex. The maximum channel depth is 20 m which occurs at the throat. Elements of the study included 1 the inlet morphometric history 120 years, 2 assessment of surficial and sub-bottom sediments within the inlet complex, 3 determination of the distribution of tidal flows within the inlet channel, 4 determination of the zone of influence of inlet hydraulic currents along the face of the updrift barrier island and 5 the determination of the response of the channel cross-sectional area to short-term variations in wave activity and tidal prisms.