Littoral drift, or shore drift, is the process by which beach sediment is moved along the shoreline. Drift results primarily from the oblique approach of wind-generated waves and can therefore change in response to short-term (daily, weekly, or seasonally) shifts in wind direction. Over the long term, however, many shorelines exhibit a single direction of net shore drift. Net shore-drift is determined through geomorphologic analysis of beach sediment patterns and of coastal landforms. Many shorelines can be divided into discrete littoral, or drift, cells, which are independent of one another and for which distinct sediment sources and sinks can be identified. This coverage denotes the extent of individual littoral cells and the direction of net shore-drift within each.

The Shoreline Public Access Project is a geographic information systems (GIS) project to identify the location, length, and degree of public access to Washington State's marine shoreline. Before the project, it was unknown how much of Washington's 3066 miles of shoreline was public. The information was scattered throughout various government agencies and the data quality was variable. Through the Shoreline Public Access Project, the best available information has been summarized into a single data set, used to answer questions about our shoreline's ownership and public accessibility.For more information, contact Christina Kellum, Washington State Department of Ecology GIS Manager, gis@ecy.wa.gov.