At 26 mi/40 km long, the Mississippi Gulf Coast is one of the longest artificial beaches in the world. The Gulf Coast did have a natural beach at one time, with lots of dunes and Native American mounds. In the 1920s, a seawall was built to help preserve the coastline; the construction of the highway destroyed most of the mounds and dunes. After World War II, sand from Mississippi Sound was pumped in to replenish the beach. Today, efforts are made to use beach plantings to maintain and beautify the beach. Such plants as sea oats help anchor the sand with their roots and reduce damage from wind and water erosion during storms. Mississippi now has protected the viewshed, and most of the beach south of Beach Boulevard that hasn't already been commercially developed is off-limits to new development. Designated areas of the beach are marked off as nesting sites for colonies of up to 500 pairs of threatened Least Terns, with signs urging visitors to let the birds "nest in peace."
