Cedar Island, Virginia

I recently conducted a GPS shoreline survey of Cedar Island, Virginia as part of my ongoing dissertation research along the Virginia barrier islands. The focus of my studies over the past few years has been Parramore Island which is directly south of Cedar Island.

Cedar is unusual along the Virginia Eastern Shore because it is/was privately property. The vast majority of the barrier islands along the coast are part of the Virginia Coast Reserve which is owned by The Nature Conservancy. The Virginia barrier islands constitute one of the longest stretches of coastal wilderness remaining on the entire US Atlantic Coast.

The bottom line is that the Virginia barrier islands are a special place--but unfortunately--the system is falling apart and rapidly. And that's where I hope my research answers some questions. For those of you wondering what a mixed-energy, wave-dominated, retrograding barrier island actually looks like, then here you go.


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