Beach vs Coast

It is very common for many people to use the terms “beach” and “coast” interchangeably when describing a stretch of land that connects to the sea. There are nuances, however, that should make it easy to identify whether you should use the term “beach” or “coast.” The main difference between the two is accessibility. On a beach, you can always go to the water and back to land quite easily. This is not the case with a coast. An excellent example is a cliff that drops directly to the sea. It is a coast but is not a beach.

A coast is defined as the junction where the sea meets land. On the other hand, a beach is a low sloping interface between land and a body of water. It is often characterized by loose material at the interface, most often sand or very small rocks. There are instances where the two can be the same like in seaside beaches. As illustrated by the example above, however, a coast is not always a beach.

There are also cases where a beach isn’t a coast. Contrary to what most people believe, beaches aren’t exclusive to the sea. Any land form that matches the criteria of a beach is called a beach regardless of whether the body of water is saltwater or fresh. Sandy shores on a lake are still considered as beaches.

So to sum it all up, a coast is simply any boundary between land and sea while a beach is a geological landform with loose particles that form a boundary between a body of water and land. Here is a short list of examples and the proper names:

The seashore is both a beach and a coast at the same time.
A sea cliff is a coast but not a beach.
A lakeshore is a beach but not a coast.

Summary:

1.A beach is always accessible while a coast isn’t always.
2.A coast is land’s boundary with the sea while the beach is not always on the sea.

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