This article is over 5 years old and may contain outdated information.

Environment

Geography word of the week: tombolo

  • Mar 08, 2016
  • 112 words
  • 1 minutes
Frank Island near Tofino, B.C.
Frank Island near Tofino, B.C. is connected to the mainland by a sandy tombolo, which forms part of popular Chesterman Beach. (Photos: Google Earth, Chris Lawes/CanGeo Photo Club)
Expand Image
Advertisement

tombolo
[t?m’b?-l?’]

Definition:
A narrow piece of land made of sediment such as sand or gravel that connects an island to the mainland or another island.

Origin:
Late eighteenth-century Italian tombolo for sand dune; from Latin tumulus meaning “hillock, mound.”

Example:
Frank Island near Tofino, British Columbia, is a good example of a tombolo. The rocky island is connected to the mainland by a large sandbar, which forms part of Chesterman Beach, a popular destination among locals. An island attached to the mainland by a tombolo is known as a tied island. Several islands connected by tombolos are called a tombolo cluster. Two or more can form a lagoon.

Advertisement

Are you passionate about Canadian geography?

You can support Canadian Geographic in 3 ways:

Related Content

Climate strike Victoria BC

Environment

Why Canada should recognize its citizens’ environmental rights

David Boyd, a Canadian environmental lawyer and UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment, reveals how recognizing the human right to a healthy environment can spur positive action for the planet

  • 1444 words
  • 6 minutes

Kids

Meet the 2015 Canadian Geographic Challenge participants

The Canadian Geographic Challenge, now in its 20th anniversary year, will bring 20 young…

  • 1691 words
  • 7 minutes

Environment

Canada officially recognizes the right to a healthy environment

The Canadian federal law regulating toxic substances has been updated for the first time in more than two decades

  • 1074 words
  • 5 minutes

People & Culture

Kahkiihtwaam ee-pee-kiiweehtataahk: Bringing it back home again

The story of how a critically endangered Indigenous language can be saved

  • 6310 words
  • 26 minutes