The following is a map unit description from the "Soil Survey of Barnstable County, Massachusetts (Fletcher, 1993)"

Bh-Beaches. This very deep, nearly level map unit is adjacent to the ocean. It is not vegetated. It makes up approximately 1.9 percent (4,738 acres) of the survey area. It is mapped mainly in the HooksanBeaches-Dune land general soil map unit. Areas are typically long and narrow and range from 50 to 200 feet in width. They are 5 to 300 acres in size.

This map unit consists of very deep, fine, medium, or coarse sand. In some areas the surface layer is gravelly or cobbly (fig. 8). Areas closest to the water are gently sloping and are inundated by tides twice a day. Generally, the entire beach is flooded by spring tides and storm tides.

Included in this unit in mapping are small areas of Hooksan, Ipswich, Pawcatuck, and Matunuck soils. Also included are unvegetated areas of dune sand. Included areas make up about 5 percent of this unit.

Beaches support no vegetation because of inundation by salt water and frequent reworking of the sand by wave action. They are used mainly for recreation and are unsuited to most other uses.