The beaches of the state of São Paulo

Abstract

The geological heritage of the coastal province of Sao Paulo state, characterized by the presence of the Serra do Mar mountain chain, combined with the hydrodynamics and resulting shoreline orientation and wave exposition defines six compartments with different kind of beaches. Thus, the relative position of the Serra do Mar mountain chain mainly controls the type of beach morphodynamics along the coast of the state of São Paulo. It is closer to the littoral in the North, leading to the dominance of reflective beaches, and further in the South, where dissipative beaches, associated with Late Quaternary coastal plains prevail. In the northern sector, wave energy is lower due to the presence of São Sebastião Island and a very irregular shoreline. In contrast, the southern sector is characterized by a large coastal plain and beaches exposed to most of the incident waves. Two compartments have been defined in the northern sector and three more in the southern one, with a transitional compartment among them. Moreover, the area as a whole is intensely occupied, either by an industrial zone (i.e. the Santos harbour area) or by tourism activities.