English

Etymology

pillow from tumulus, mound

Noun

1. A spit of sand linking an island to the mainland (or to another island), formed by longshore drift.

Italian

Noun

1. lace pillow or cushion
2. a podgy person

For the Italian city, see Tombolo, Italy.

A tombolo is a deposition landform such as a spit or bar which forms a narrow piece of land between an island or offshore rock and a mainland shore, or between two islands or offshore rocks. They usually form because the island causes wave refraction, depositing sand and shingle moved by longshore drift in each direction around the island where the waves meet. Eustatic sea level rise may also contribute to accretion as material is pushed up with rising sea levels. This is the case with Chesil Beach which connects the Isle of Portland to Dorset in England which is notable as the shingle ridge is parallel rather than perpendicular to the coast.

List of notable tombolos

• Mersey Point, Shoalwater, Western Australia
• The isthmus at Aden, Yemen
• Aupouri Peninsula, New Zealand
• Barrenjoey Headland, Pittwater, New South Wales, Australia
• Chappaquiddick Island, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts
• Charles Island, Connecticut
• Chesil Beach, Dorset, England
• Cheung Chau, Hong Kong
• Fingal Bay, New South Wales, Australia
• Howth Head, Dublin, Ireland
• Kettla Ness, Burra, Shetland Islands, Scotland
• Llandudno, Wales
• Maharees, Dingle Peninsula, Ireland
• Miquelon, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon
• Monemvasia, Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece
• Mont Saint-Michel, Normandy, France
• Mount Maunganui, New Zealand
• Nahant, Massachusetts (a natural tombolo, but connected to the mainland by a causeway)
• Palisadoes, Kingston, Jamaica
• Presqu'ile Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada
• Quiberon, France
• St Ninian's Isle, Shetland Islands, Scotland
• Yei of Huney, Huney, Shetland Islands, Scotland
• Langness, Castletown Bay, Isle of Man, UK
• Dawlish warren, Devon, England
• Cádiz, Andalucía, Spain

See also

• Isthmus
• Bar

External links

• Geology.About.com's page on tombolos (useful for its descriptive photograph)
• Photograph: Chesil Beach
• Photograph: Chesil Beach and the Isle of Portland