Shoreline Sensitivity Rankings List

The following table is a complete list of shoreline classifications for Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps for three types of environmental settings:

• Estuarine. River-mouth; salt- or brackish-water.
  
• Lacustrine. Related to lakes.
  
• Riverine. Related to rivers, particularly large rivers.

Lower rankings represent shorelines that are less susceptible to damage by oiling; higher rankings become more likely to experience damage by oiling. Note: Follow the ESI Shoreline Types link at the bottom of the page to see photos of many of the shoreline types.

ESI Rank	Estuarine	Lacustrine	Riverine
1A	Exposed rocky shores	Exposed rocky shores	Exposed rocky banks
1B	Exposed, solid man-made structures	Exposed, solid man-made structures	Exposed, solid man-made structures
1C	Exposed rocky cliffs with boulder talus base	Exposed rocky cliffs with boulder talus base	Exposed rocky cliffs with boulder talus base
2A	Exposed wave-cut platforms in bedrock, mud, or clay	Shelving bedrock shores	Rocky shoals, bedrock ledges
2B	Exposed scarps and steep slopes in clay
3A	Fine to medium-grained sand beaches
3B	Scarps and steep slopes in sand	Eroding scarps in unconsolidated sediment	Exposed, eroding banks in unconsolidated sediments
3C	Tundra cliffs
4	Coarse-grained sand beaches	Sand beaches	Sandy bars and gently sloping banks
5	Mixed sand and gravel beaches	Mixed sand and gravel beaches	Mixed sand and gravel bars and gently sloping banks
6A	Gravel beaches Gravel beaches (granules and pebbles)*	Gravel beaches	Gravel bars and gently sloping banks
6B	Riprap Gravel beaches (cobbles and boulders)*	Riprap	Riprap
6C*	Riprap
7	Exposed tidal flats	Exposed tidal flats
8A	Sheltered scarps in bedrock, mud, or clay Sheltered rocky shores (impermeable)*	Sheltered scarps in bedrock, mud, or clay
8B	Sheltered, solid man-made structures Sheltered rocky shores (permeable)*	Sheltered, solid man-made structures	Sheltered, solid man-made structures
8C	Sheltered riprap	Sheltered riprap	Sheltered riprap
8D	Sheltered rocky rubble shores
8E	Peat shorelines
8F			Vegetated, steeply-sloping bluffs
9A	Sheltered tidal flats	Sheltered sand/mud flats
9B	Vegetated low banks	Vegetated low banks	Vegetated low banks
9	Hypersaline tidal flats
10A	Salt- and brackish-water marshes
10B	Freshwater marshes	Freshwater marshes	Freshwater marshes
10C	Swamps	Swamps	Swamps
10D	Scrub-shrub wetlands; Mangroves**	Scrub-shrub wetlands	Scrub-shrub wetlands
10E	Inundated low-lying tundra
* A category or definition that applies only in Southeast Alaska. ** In tropical climates, 10D indicates areas of dominant mangrove vegetation.

For More Information

ESI Shoreline Types Photographs of many shoreline types shown on ESI maps.

Anatomy of ESI Maps Brief introduction to the basic elements of ESI maps.