Dunes

The great dunes are as much a part of Nantucket as the magnificence of the ocean waves which, over centuries and millennia, have shaped her forever changing hills of sand.  Nantucket Harbor's barrier beach, which stretches from Coatue Point to Head of the Harbor, is a long sandy peninsula of dune created over 5,000 years by the relentless rhythm of the tides.  This barrier beach provides a safe harbor for the island's many vessels.