Terraforming : Seven Mile Beach Island
In today's update we will be looking at Seven Mile Beach Island. Seven Mile Beach Island, as the name implies, stretches seven miles between Hereford Inlet in the south to Townsend's Inlet to the north. As with all the barrier islands, it is seperated from the mainland by a one to 2 mile wide swath of marshland and an extensive network of creeks and ponds. This island is home to the upscale resort communities of Stone Harbor and Avalon.
At the southern end of the island is the Stone Harbor tile. Stone Harbor Boulevard ( County Road 657 ) passes over a series of islands and creeks to enter the town at 96th Street.
On the western edge of this tile, the Stone Harbor causeway crosses Scotch Bonnet Creek. (looking south) . A small foot bridge has been built on the north side of the highway bridge and is a popular fishing and crabbing spot.
Looking west from the island over Great Thorofare.
On the north end of the island is the Avalon tile. County road 601 ( Avalon Boulevard) enters from the west, crossing South Channel. The road formerly continued straight, entering the town at 22nd Street via Avalon Manor. It now swings south, entering Avalon at 30th Street.
A closer look...
Waterfront properties along the back bays are among the priciest in New Jersey
Looking east , north end of Avalon
At the north end of the island is Townsend's Inlet. The Ocean Drive bridge connects to Ludlam's Beach Island ( Sea Isle City)
When the island was developed in the late 19th century, the dunes were leveled and the island was graded and made basically flat. The folly of this action was brought home during the Ash Wednesday nor'easter of 1962. For three days, hurricane force winds pummelled the island, driving 30 foot high waves into the shore. The entire island was submerged under water for four to five days. When the waters receded, the six blocks between 6th Street and the inlet were gone, washed into the Atlantic.
The rock seawall at 6th Street has stabilized the northern shoreline, and an expensive beach replenishment program is keeping Avalon's beaches in place.
Well, that's it for this installment. Thanks for viewing !
REPLIES :
ImVhOzzy : it's going slow, but steady. I can only look at maps and aerial pics of the marshes so long before I start going swamp-happy. Thanks
for stopping back !
Waterclaw: Thanks and welcome to the CJ!
Reikhardt : Thank you for your kind words. Your journals have been an inspiration.
escilnavia: Thanks for stopping by. I'm getting closer to being able to build cities ( well, farms, towns and villages at first. Cape May County is a
fairly rural area.)
C. Scott : It's been a lot of work, but so far I'm pretty pleased with the results. I'm trying to complete the map by the end of September. One more
island to go , and a bit of work along the mainland shore
3 Comments
Recommended Comments
Sign In or register to comment...
To comment in reply, you must be a community member
Sign In
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In NowCreate an Account
Sign up to join our friendly community. It's easy!
Register a New Account