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Excerpt from The Journal of Geology, 1902, Vol. 10 The profile of a shore as seen at any one time is a compromise between two forms. One of these is the form which it possessed when the water assumed its present level; from this form it is continually departing. The other is the form which the water is striving to give to it; toward this form it is continually tending. There is a profile of equilibrium which the water would ultimately impart, if allowed to carry its work to completion. The continual change of shore line and the supply of new drift are everchanging conditions with which no fixed form can be in equilibrium. There are, however, certain adjustments of current, slope and load which, when once attained, are maintained with some constancy. The form involved in these adjustments is commonly known as the profile of equilibrium. When this profile has once been assumed the entire form may slowly shift its position toward or from the land, but its slope will change little or not at all. It may be compared to a stream channel which has reached grade but not base level. The force which the water exerts is derived ultimately from the wind. The immediate agencies in the work are waves and currents. It will be convenient to consider these first as acting independently of the wind which caused them, and second, as acting under its continuous influence. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are inte