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35-452: Lake Worth Lagoon is located at coordinates 26°40′53″N 80°02′45″W  /  26.68139°N 80.04583°W  / 26.68139; -80.04583 . It is approximately 21 miles (34 km) long and up to a mile wide. The Lake Worth Inlet connects the northern part of the lagoon to the ocean. It is the entrance channel to the Port of Palm Beach . The South Lake Worth Inlet (also known as

70-445: A beach , the term shoal can be applied to larger geological units that form off a coastline as part of the process of coastal erosion, such as spits and baymouth bars that form across the front of embayments and rias . A tombolo is a bar that forms an isthmus between an island or offshore rock and a mainland shore. In places of reentrance along a coastline (such as inlets , coves , rias, and bays), sediments carried by

105-401: A harbor entrance or river mouth by the deposition of freshwater sediment or by the action of waves on the sea floor or on up-current beaches. Where beaches are suitably mobile, or the river's suspended or bed loads are large enough, deposition can build up a sandbar that completely blocks a river mouth and dams the river. It can be a seasonally natural process of aquatic ecology , causing

140-433: A longshore current will fall out where the current dissipates, forming a spit. An area of water isolated behind a large bar is called a lagoon. Over time, lagoons may silt up, becoming salt marshes . In some cases, shoals may be precursors to beach expansion and dunes formation, providing a source of windblown sediment to augment such beach or dunes landforms. Since prehistoric times, humans have chosen some shoals as

175-447: A considerable range in size, from a length of a few meters in a small stream to marine depositions stretching for hundreds of kilometers along a coastline, often called barrier islands . They are typically composed of sand , although they could be of any granular matter that the moving water has access to and is capable of shifting around (for example, soil , silt , gravel , cobble , shingle , or even boulders ). The grain size of

210-418: A deep lake, that occurs at any depth, or is used as a verb for the process of proceeding from a greater to a lesser depth of water. Shoals are characteristically long and narrow (linear) ridges. They can develop where a stream , river , or ocean current promotes deposition of sediment and granular material , resulting in localized shallowing (shoaling) of the water. Marine shoals also develop either by

245-688: A request to improve the inlet in 1912. In 1915 the Florida Legislature chartered the Lake Worth Inlet District (which later became the Port of Palm Beach District). The site of the original Lang's Inlet was chosen for the new inlet, which was completed in 1917. The old inlet at the Black Rocks was still open. A community of fishermen from the Bahamas had settled on the barrier island just north of

280-427: A sloping bank which is shallower at one end than the other, then the shoaling effect will result in the waves slowing more at the shallow end. Thus, the wave fronts will refract, changing direction like light passing through a prism. Refraction also occurs as waves move towards a beach if the waves come in at an angle to the beach, or if the beach slopes more gradually at one end than the other. Sandbars, also known as

315-430: A trough bars, form where the waves are breaking, because the breaking waves set up a shoreward current with a compensating counter-current along the bottom. Sometimes this occurs seaward of a trough (marine landform). Sand carried by the offshore moving bottom current is deposited where the current reaches the wave break. Other longshore bars may lie further offshore, representing the break point of even larger waves, or

350-439: Is a navigation or grounding hazard, with a depth of water of 6 fathoms (11 meters) or less. It therefore applies to a silt accumulation that shallows the entrance to or course of a river, or creek. A bar can form a dangerous obstacle to shipping, preventing access to the river or harbor in poor weather conditions or at some states of the tide . In addition to longshore bars discussed above that are relatively small features of

385-400: Is also used in a number of ways that can be either similar to, or quite different from, how it is used in geologic, geomorphic, and oceanographic literature. Sometimes, the term refers to either any relatively shallow place in a stream , lake , sea , or other body of water; a rocky area on the seafloor within an area mapped for navigation purposes; or, a growth of vegetation on the bottom of

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420-427: Is called shoaling , and the waves are said to shoal. The waves may or may not build to the point where they break , depending on how large they were to begin with, and how steep the slope of the beach is. In particular, waves shoal as they pass over submerged sandbanks or reefs. This can be treacherous for boats and ships. Shoaling can also refract waves, so the waves change direction. For example, if waves pass over

455-436: Is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material, and rises from the bed of a body of water close to the surface or above it, which poses a danger to navigation. Shoals are also known as sandbanks , sandbars , or gravelbars . Two or more shoals that are either separated by shared troughs or interconnected by past or present sedimentary and hydrographic processes are referred to as a shoal complex . The term shoal

490-475: The Black Rocks would provide some protection for the inlet. The point chosen on the barrier island was only about 300 feet wide, but the beach dune ridge was 20 feet high and covered by heavy growth. All of the work was done with axes, shovels, hoes and wheelbarrows. It took 20 men several weeks to dig the new inlet. The new inlet served its intended purpose well. The inlet tended to migrate south, however, with

525-462: The Everglades to the west. Extreme high tides and waves, high lake water levels and storms occasionally caused the formation of temporary inlets that quickly closed up again. When there was no inlet available, the settlers in the area had to haul their boats over the barrier beaches to move them between the ocean and the lake. In 1866 travelers reported that fresh water was pouring out of the lake into

560-733: The Lake Worth Inlet is an artificial cut through a barrier island connecting the northern part of the Lake Worth Lagoon in Palm Beach County, Florida with the Atlantic Ocean. It is bordered by the town of Palm Beach on the south, and by the town of Palm Beach Shores to the north. The inlet is also the entrance channel for the Port of Palm Beach . Its coordinates are 26°46′20″N 80°02′14″W  /  26.77222°N 80.03722°W  / 26.77222; -80.03722 . In

595-529: The Second Seminole War . The Seminole language name for the lagoon, as given by a Seminole informant in 1870, was Hypoluxo , translated as "water all around no get out", referring to the landlocked status of the lagoon. In the mid-19th century the Lake Worth Lagoon was a fresh water lake. There were no rivers or streams flowing into the lake; all of the flow into the lake was by ground seepage from

630-423: The jetties . In 1967 the inlet was dredged to a depth of 35 feet, which has been maintained since then. A sand transfer plant pumps sand from the north side of the inlet to the south side in order to maintain the natural flow of sand southward along the coast. Bar (landform) In oceanography , geomorphology , and geoscience , a shoal is a natural submerged ridge , bank , or bar that consists of, or

665-454: The Black Rocks, and they periodically cleared the channel when it silted up. A storm closed the inlet at the Black Rocks in 1919, and the fishermen, who were squatting on the island, were forced off by its owners and moved to Riviera (now Riviera Beach ). The new Lake Worth Inlet was improved several times over the next decade. The federal government assumed responsibility for the inlet in 1935, and continued to widen and deepen it and build up

700-461: The Boynton Inlet) connects the southern part of the lagoon to the ocean. It is used primarily by recreational boaters. The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway runs the entire length of the lagoon. Eight causeways and bridges connect the mainland to the barrier beaches, including Palm Beach Island. The lagoon is named "Lake Worth" in honor of William J. Worth , last commander of United States troops in

735-400: The break point at low tide. In Russian tradition of geomorphology , a peresyp is a sandbar that rises above the water level (like a spit ) and separates a liman or a lagoon from the sea. Unlike tombolo bars, a peresyp seldom forms a contiguous strip and usually has one or several channels that connect the liman and the sea. A harbor or river bar is a sedimentary deposit formed at

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770-435: The current wearing away at the southern bank and depositing sand on the northern bank. By 1886 the inlet had migrated about a mile south of the Black Rocks, and closed up during a storm. An inlet was again dug through just south of the Black Rocks. In 1893 Henry Flagler , who would complete construction of his Florida East Coast Railway to West Palm Beach in 1894, had the inlet enlarged. The federal government turned down

805-422: The formation of estuaries and wetlands in the lower course of the river. This situation will persist until the bar is eroded by the sea, or the dammed river develops sufficient head to break through the bar. The formation of harbor bars that prevent access for boats and shipping can be the result of: In a nautical sense, a bar is a shoal, similar to a reef : a shallow formation of (usually) sand that

840-462: The in-place drowning of barrier islands as the result of episodic sea level rise or by the erosion and submergence of inactive delta lobes . Shoals can appear as a coastal landform in the sea , where they are classified as a type of ocean bank , or as fluvial landforms in rivers, streams, and lakes . A shoal–sandbar may seasonally separate a smaller body of water from the sea, such as: The term bar can apply to landform features spanning

875-472: The lagoon on August 24, 2009, was caught on tape by a local group known as the LagoonKeepers, who named it "muck monster". The identity and existence of the creature remains unconfirmed, as it did not break the surface during the time observed. It displayed a wide wake, but then appeared to descend deeper when observers approached within 10 feet. Lake Worth Inlet The Palm Beach Inlet , also known as

910-608: The lagoon. In the early 1900s, the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway was completed from the south end of the Lagoon to Biscayne Bay . By 1915, the Port of Palm Beach had created a permanent inlet four feet deep at the old location of Lang's Inlet, which was deepened to 16 feet (4.9 m) in 1925. In 1917 the South Lake Worth Inlet was created in a failed effort to improve tidal circulation and provide flushing to

945-436: The lagoon. The Port of Palm Beach , several marinas and a power plant on the shores of the lagoon also add pollution to the lagoon. Since 1994, there has been heightened awareness of the need for water quality improvements and habitat restoration and enhancement within the Lagoon. A Lake Worth Lagoon Management Plan was approved in 1998, updated in 2013, to guide the Lagoon's restoration and enhancement. An unexplained wake in

980-463: The lake down to sea level. The limited inflow of ocean water through the inlet and continued seepage of fresh water from the Everglades kept the lake from becoming more than mildly brackish . The inlet tended to silt up, and had to be dug out again every few months. In 1877 the settlers around the lake decided to dig a new inlet at a point about a mile north of Lang's Inlet where a rock formation called

1015-408: The material comprising a bar is related to the size of the waves or the strength of the currents moving the material, but the availability of material to be worked by waves and currents is also important. Wave shoaling is the process when surface waves move towards shallow water, such as a beach, they slow down, their wave height increases and the distance between waves decreases. This behavior

1050-472: The mid-19th century the body of water that is now the Lake Worth Lagoon was a freshwater lake. This had been named Lake Worth in honor of William J. Worth , commander of the Eighth Infantry Regiment in the Second Seminole War . There were no rivers or streams flowing into the lake; all of the flow into the lake was by ground seepage from the Everglades to the west. The only outflow from the lake

1085-491: The ocean at a point about ten miles (16 km) south of the Jupiter Inlet. One report is that a settler named August Lang had dug the channel to open an inlet, and it was known as "Lang's Inlet" for a while. This cut drained the lake down to sea level. The limited inflow of ocean water through the inlet and continued seepage of fresh water from the Everglades kept the lake from becoming more than mildly brackish . Lang's Inlet

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1120-403: The shoreline of the lagoon. Mangroves , which once lined most of the shoreline of the lagoon, have been reduced to just 283 acres (115 ha). Several bridges cross the lagoon. Man-made inlets from the ocean allow salt water to mix with fresh water in the lagoon. Man-made canals dump varying amounts of fresh water into the lagoon. Untreated stormwater from the surrounding urban areas flows into

1155-487: The south end of the Lagoon. The completion of the West Palm Beach Canal (which connected to Lake Okeechobee , draining land west of West Palm Beach as well as the Everglades ) in 1925 resulted in significant freshwater inflow to the lagoon. Lake Worth Lagoon is completely surrounded by the urbanized area of Palm Beach County. Much of the shoreline has been dredged and filled-in. Bulkheads now line 81 percent of

1190-521: Was through a swamp that became the Lake Worth Creek as it approached the Loxahatchee River and Jupiter Inlet . In 1866 travelers reported that fresh water was pouring out of the lake into the ocean at a point about ten miles south of the Jupiter Inlet. One report is that a settler named Lang had dug the channel to open an inlet, and it was known as Lang's Inlet for a while. This cut drained

1225-402: Was unstable, and had to be dug out again every few months. Construction of a stable inlet at the "Black Rocks" one mile (1.6 km) north of Lang's Inlet was finally achieved in 1877. The lake immediately began to change to a saltwater lagoon. The completion of a navigation canal from the north end of Lake Worth Lagoon to Jupiter Inlet in the 1880s resulted in increased freshwater discharges to

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