Introduction Within this document, the differences between a summer and a winter beach will be explained in depth and the sand samples taken from the back coast of Huntington Beach will be analyzed , located in South Carolina, will be used as evidence of these differences. The sand samples taken in both the summer and winter periods will be defined and analyzed in detail, as will the beach area itself. After reading this document, general information about the type of sand collected, specifically on Huntington Beach, will be apparent, as will the differences between the beach during the winter and summer. The samples will be described in depth and the laboratory work and results will be summarized for a touch of light and interesting reading; all external work cited has been corrected. These results will not only be conveyed with words, but also with visually appealing diagrams and photos of the physical sample. Finally, at the end of this article there will be a short summary where the sand samples will be briefly restated as an example of the winter and summer differences at a beach, specifically Huntington Beach. Winter Beach Information As storm surges and wave heights, along with a general change in wave and wind direction, surge during the fall and winter months, beach banks and occasionally dunes erode in reaction, causing subsidence of the beach as sand is washed offshore from the upper portions of the beach and deposited as protective offshore sandbars (more on beaches and dunes). The result is typically a flatter, more concave beach shape. Sandbars that form offshore in winter help protect the beach by causing waves to break further offshore. There tends to be coarser sediments in beach deposits, and any large storm can… middle of paper… location of sand on the current side due to the pier disrupting the movement of sand. Legislation has been adopted to protect the coasts. According to Kathryn Free, the South Carolina Coastal Zone Management Act of 1977 was passed by the General Assembly to ensure the protection and enhancement of the state's coastal resources. The Act serves a wide range of purposes to inspire coastal management and protection of coastal natural resources. The law also created the South Carolina Coastal Council and gave it direct regulatory authority over “critical areas” of the coastal zone, including coastal waters, tidal zones, beaches, and primary oceanfront sand dunes (Free 15 -16). However, it soon became apparent that the Council could not achieve these legislative objectives because it lacked the authority to counter construction near eroding shorelines..