How do strand-plain coasts differ from barrier-island coasts?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Strand-plain coasts and barrier-island coasts are both types of depositional coasts that share many morphological similarities, such as the presence of beaches, dunes, and coastal marshes.12

The primary difference between them lies in their structural configuration:

Barrier-island coasts are characterized by elongate islands of sand that parallel the shore, separated from the mainland by lagoons. These systems are typically interrupted by tidal inlets, which facilitate circulation between the open marine environment and coastal bays or estuaries.3
Strand-plain coasts lack these barrier island systems and their associated inlets. They are wave-dominated environments that do not contain estuaries, though they otherwise mirror the beach and dune features found on barrier islands.1