Swash is best described as:

• A. A backwash flow down the beach.
• B. A surface current near the surface.
• C. The uprush of water up the beach after a wave breaks.
• D. A current moving parallel to shore.

Answer: (C)

Swash is the water that surges up the beach after a wave breaks. When a breaker releases its energy, momentum carries some water upslope across the beach face, moving the sediment with it. This uprush is distinct from backwash, which is the water returning seaward down the beach under gravity. It’s also different from a surface current near the surface or a longshore current, which move parallel to the shore rather than up and down the beach during wave action.