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Story: Coastal erosion

Reflective beach

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Reflective beach

The beach at Torrent Bay in the Abel Tasman National Park is narrow and drops away sharply just offshore. Steep shorelines like this have been built up with sand deposits over a long time. This process produces a reflective beach – the waves are thrown back (reflected) to sea.

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GNS Science

Reference: CN9685/33

by Lloyd Homer

Permission of GNS Science must be obtained before any use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Willem de Lange, Coastal erosion – Shifting sands, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/6326/reflective-beach (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Willem de Lange, published 2 March 2009.