Mulranny Beach

On Puget Sound, we have mixed sand and gravel beaches. And they really are mixed, even if unevenly. Ireland has sand and gravel beaches, too, but many looked like this one - sand and gravel, but not really mixed. Sandy foreshores, with well-sorted coarse gravel or cobble berms. This is probably aided by large storms and bigger, longer period waves.

Mulranny Beach, on the north shore of Clew Bay, is a nice example of this, although there will be plenty of other examples to follow.

AERIAL VIEW

The eastern portion of Clew bay is geologically famous for its partly submerged drumlin field. Which makes it a great place to watch how beach systems develop under the influence of geologic controls such as topography and terrestrial sediment supply - something I'll come back to in a few posts when we get to Bertra Beach on the south side of Clew Bay. For the time being, just note that this beach is carved into low hills of glacial till -- a combination of boulders and much finer sediment.