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Cheniers

Encyclopedia of Coastal Science

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

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Definition and Morphology

Cheniers are relict wave-built coastal plain landforms that occur in sets inland from the shoreline where they originally formed along an active beach as littoral ridges. They are sheltered from daily wave and tidal processes and generally consist of sand, sandy shell, and occasionally sandy gravel. Chenier ridge sequences may develop on prograding deltas or non-deltaic coastal plains. Cheniers form subparallel sets of elongated, narrow ridges (typically up to 3 m high and 40–400 m wide), usually rising slightly above the highest high-tide level. Wave action and storm overwash build the original littoral ridges. The term chenier (Russell and Howe 1935) originated in the French native word (chêne) for the majestic evergreen “live oak” tree (Quercus virginiana ) that lines chenier ridges of southwest Louisiana. Cheniers differ from beach ridge sets (q.v.) by the presence of intervening, parallel, low, and level surfaces that represent predominant portion of...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Coastal Sciences, University of Southern Mississippi, Ocean Springs, MS, USA

    Ervin G. Otvos

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  1. Ervin G. Otvos
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Correspondence to Ervin G. Otvos .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Coastal Education & Research Foundation, Fletcher, North Carolina, USA

    Charles W. Finkl

  2. Coastal Education & Research Foundation , Coconut Creek, Florida, USA

    Christopher Makowski

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Otvos, E.G. (2018). Cheniers. In: Finkl, C., Makowski, C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Coastal Science . Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48657-4_67-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48657-4_67-4

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-48657-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-48657-4

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Cheniers
    Published:
    08 October 2018

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48657-4_67-5

  2. Cheniers
    Published:
    17 July 2018

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48657-4_67-4

  3. Cheniers
    Published:
    09 May 2018

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48657-4_67-3

  4. Original

    Cheniers
    Published:
    11 April 2017

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48657-4_67-2

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