Barachois

A barachois is a type of coastal lagoon partially or totally separated from the ocean by a sand or shingle bar. The term is used in Atlantic Canada, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Réunion and Mauritius, and on Diego Garcia in the British Indian Ocean Territory it describes narrow-mouthed saltwater wetlands within the lagoon. In some cases the bar that separates the lagoon from the sea is made of boulders rather than sand, as at Freshwater Bay near St. John's, Newfoundland. Salt water may enter a barachois during high tides. Barachois features often form as a result of sediment deposition in the delta of a river or, in some locations such as Miquelon Island, by a tombolo.