Coastal Development in Volusia and Brevard Counties, Florida

In Volusia and Brevard Counties of Florida the coastal area has developed east of the younger Pleistocene terraces by a gradual seaward progradation. Growth is attributed to a continuing supply of littoral material from the north, a relative stable sea level since the last terrace formed, and processes of lagoonal sedimentation. As time progressed, the width of the St. Johns Lagoon diminished until all the characteristics of the lagoon were lost. Seaward of the barrier island that formed the old St. Johns Lagoon the supply of quartz sand from the beaches to the north has persisted and the abundance of sand became the source material for the longshore bars and barrier islands which gradually developed seaward of the original barrier island. As a result of opposing longshore currents, minor variations in sea level, and littoral drift conditions, a complex coastal area developed in the vicinity of Cape Canaveral. The sequence of events or stages leading to the development of the present configuration can be interpreted, in part, from the present land forms.