Definition of "backshore" []

• The area of shore lying between the average high-tide mark and the vegetation, affected by waves only during severe storms. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "On the constantly shifting sands of the "backshore" of Provincetown, a number of tiny structures sit, precariously perched."
• "However, rapid backshore erosion is also likely to increase the rate at which terrestrial permafrost is exposed to coastal conditions, leading to warming of terrestrial permafrost in the backshore environment."
• "High rates of erosion caused by exposure to waves and storm surges during the open water season lead to deep thermal notch development in cliffs, block failure in the backshore (area reached only by the highest tides), melting of sea-level-straddling massive ice, and possible offshore thermokarst development [72]."