A long narrow stretch of sand and/or shingle with one end attached to the mainland is called

A long narrow stretch of sand or shingle with one end attached to the mainland and the other projecting into the sea is defined as a sand spit [2]. Spits are depositional landforms created by longshore drift, where sediment is moved along the coastline and deposited across an indentation, such as a bay or river mouth [3]. Over time, this material builds up into a ridge or embankment [2]. While a sand bar is a ridge of sand parallel to the coast that is often submerged, a spit is specifically 'keyed up' or attached to a headland at one end [3]. If a spit continues to grow until it connects an offshore island to the mainland, the resulting landform is called a tombolo [5]. Sand dunes, by contrast, are mounds of sand formed by wind (eolian) processes rather than wave action [4].

Sources

1. [2] Certificate Physical and Human Geography , GC Leong (Oxford University press 3rd ed.) > Chapter 10: Coastal Landforms > Goastal Features of Deposition > p. 92
2. [3] FUNDAMENTALS OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY, Geography Class XI (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 6: Landforms and their Evolution > HIGH ROCKY COASTS > p. 57
3. [1] FUNDAMENTALS OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY, Geography Class XI (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 6: Landforms and their Evolution > Bars, Barriers and Spits > p. 58
4. [5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tombolo
5. [4] Physical Geography by PMF IAS, Manjunath Thamminidi, PMF IAS (1st ed.) > Chapter 17: Major Landforms and Cycle of Erosion > Sand Dunes > p. 237