ABSTRACT
Like macrotidal deposits, mesotidal deposits are only found where there is shallow coastal water, an open coast or an open connection with the sea so that the tides can come in, and granular material available for building up sediment. Along the southeast coast of the North Sea between about 53° N and 55° 30' N the Wadden Sea, with a length of 450 km, extends mostly behind a series of 21 barrier islands in The Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark. Smaller islands and sand flats also occur on the seaward margin of the Wadden Sea. From Texel to the Jade, the barrier islands become gradually smaller. They are absent between the Jade and Eiderstedt, and north of Eiderstedt they are smaller than west of the Jade. In most of the Wadden Sea the tidal deposits are bare, with the inner margins covered by salt marshes.
