Uprush and Backwash

the advance and seaward return of water after the breaking of a wave. The uprush forms immediately after a wave breaks and races up the shore of the beach with gradually decelerating speed. The direction of the uprush is determined by the initial propagation of the wave and the direction of the force of gravity. The backwash runs down the foreshore after the speed of the uprush drops to nothing. When the waves approach the shoreline at an oblique angle, the directions of the uprush and backwash do not usually coincide, and alongshore shifting of the alluvium occurs. When the uprush and backwash run directly perpendicular to the shoreline, transverse shifting of the alluvium occurs.