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Scolt Head Island is an offshore barrier island between Brancaster and Wells-next-the-Sea in north Norfolk. It is in the parish of Burnham Norton and is accessed by a seasonal ferry from the village of Overy Staithe. The shingle and sand island appears to have originated from a former spit extending from the coast, and longshore drift means that it is slowly moving to the west and inshore. The island comprises sand dunes, salt marsh, intertidal sand and mud flats, and shingle. It supports internationally important numbers of breeding Sandwich and little terns, and nationally significant populations of common and Arctic terns, as well as wintering waders and wildfowl. It has a number of uncommon plants adapted to its harsh environments. It was bought by the National Trust in 1923, and became a national nature reserve. It was subsumed into the North Norfolk Coast SSSI in 1986. The larger area is now additionally protected through Natura 2000, Special Protection Area (SPA) and Ramsar listings, and is part of the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The first resident first "watcher" (warden) on Scolt Head was pioneering ornithologist and photographer Emma Turner. This isolated island has been largely undisturbed by human activity apart from service as an artillery range in World War II, and it is of international importance because of the extensive research into its geomorphology over nearly a century. ==Description== Scolt Head Island is a roughly 6.5 km (4 mi) long shingle and sand island on the Norfolk coast opposite Burnham Norton. Despite its name, it is possible to walk across the mudflats and Norton Creek to the island at low tide. However this route is potentially dangerous due to shifting and deep mud and rapid tidal changes, and is not recommended by the landowner. Its main beach and ridge of sand dunes run approximately east to west, and it has a series of curved shingle "hooks" running south and east on its landward side.〔 The 737 ha (1820 acres) island is composed almost entirely flint pebbles, mostly rounded by wave action, and sand; other minerals make up less than one per cent of the material. It is gradually extending westwards due to wave action and longshore drift. The curved shingle ridges were formed when each in turn was formerly the western end of the island, and salt marshes have developed between each ridge. Some of the shorter side ridges meet the main ridge at a steep angle due to the southward movement of the latter.〔Steers, J A in Allison & Morley (1986) p. 19.〕 Natural England's designation document states that the shingle spits here and at Blakeney Point are of special importance for the study of geophysical processes,〔 and are the best studied and documented in the world.〔 The salt marsh and shingle structures together are of the highest national importance for investigating the recent geological history of this coast.〔 The salt marshes here develop rapidly due to the inflow of silt and increasing plant growth, increasing in height by about 1 cm (0.4 in) annually,〔Chorley ''et al'' (1984) p. 407.〕 and developing a well-defined creek system as they age.〔Allen & Pye (1992) p. 158.〕 The island is served by a ferry from Burnham Overy Staithe which runs from April to September, and there is a 1 km (1,100 yd) nature trail with information boards.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Scolt Head Island」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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