Reports and Studies 2014 Review: 1975 Environment of Kiawah Report | Page 5

Summary & Analysis of the 1975 Kiawah Environmental Report 

COASTAL PROCESSES AND GEOMORPHOLOGY
The 1975 Report
The purposes of the 1975 study in this area were:
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to describe and define basic landforms of the Kiawah coast and principal coastal
processes that formed the coast.
to produce detailed maps of geomorphological environments of the island
(dunes, dune ridges, spits, beaches and marshes).
to determine the history of erosion and deposition of sediments.

To fulfill these objectives, the researchers evaluated historical records from 1661 to
1973 and produced detailed maps and surveys of selected areas.
The main conclusions presented in the report are as follows:
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Kiawah Island is one of a few barrier islands in South Carolina that is presently
undergoing rapid deposition.
During the past century the island built seaward at annual average of tens of
feet.
The southern boundary of Cougar Island was the shoreline during the Civil
War. This shoreline has prograded 2500 feet southwards during the last
century.
Most of Kiawah Island was deposited in the last 3000 – 4000 years.
Neighboring Folly and Morris Islands show extensive erosion during the last
100 years.
Charleston Harbor changes in the late 1870s were a major contributor to the
erosion of Morris and Folly Islands and the deposition of sand on Kiawah
Island.
Sand eroded from Morris and Folly Islands migrated southward, accumulating
at Stono Inlet.
· Coastal processes (waves, currents, storms) transport sand from these shoals
to be deposited along the Kiawah coast.
·  is possible that this source of sediment will be depleted during future
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years. However, a major reversal in present depositional trend is not expected within the next 50 years (that is, before 2025).

Revised: May 2014_REV 8

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