七星潭海岸位於三棧溪與米崙台地之間,有發育良好的礫灘,是以往海岸研究的重要地點。為了探索礫灘的地形和沉積性質,本研究詳細測繪該地的海灘剖面,分析灘礫的組織與岩性,並觀察海灘的側向變化,以探討沉積物來源及搬運機制。七星潭礫灘北寬南窄,最寬處約160公尺;灘面有平緩的後濱及陡峭的前濱,其上有一至三階灘臺脊。前濱灘礫淘選良好,粒徑由海向陸漸粗,並呈現明顯之疊瓦狀排列,朝內陸傾倒,顯示波浪上沖作用主導了灘礫的搬運和堆積。後濱灘礫淘選度較差,雖亦有疊瓦狀組構,但排列方向較繁亂,且常見漂木和雜物排列成的碎物線,展現出暴風波浪作用的特徵。七星潭海灘沉積物主要由變質岩的碎屑組成,大多來自北方三棧溪及立霧溪的河口堆積物,少部分來自南端米崙台地的海崖侵蝕。這些沉積物受波浪沖刷磨蝕與沿岸搬運,最後被沖積上陸堆成礫灘。
Chi-Shing-Tan, located at northwestern Hualien city of eastern Taiwan, is bordered with a well-developed gravel beach, which has been focused by geomorphologic researches. In an attempt to unravel the characteristics of this gravel beach, this study investigated the beach profiles, gravel texture and composition, and their spatial variations to infer the sources and transport mechanisms of beach sediment. The Chi-Shing-Tan beach is near 160 m wide in the north and about 30 m in the south. The beach has a gentle backshore and a steep foreshore separated with one to three steps of berm crest. The foreshore gravels are generally well-sorted, coarsen landward, and exhibit prominent landward-facing imbrication, which imply that sediment transport and deposition are dominated by strong uprush. In contrast, the backshore gravels are often poorly sorted, randomly imbricated, and featured with a debris line, which can be attributed to stormy waves under extreme storms. The composition of Chi-Shing-Tan beach pebbles are dominated by metamorphic rock clasts, which are mainly derived from the San-Jan River and Li-Wu River in the Central Range. These sediments were constantly longshore transported with increasing abrasion from north to south and then accreted onshore by wave uprush to form gravel beach. In addition, cliff erosion at the northern Milun Tableland also supplies a minor amount of sediment to beach.