Barrier islands on the west-central Gulf coast of Florida display a wide range in morphology along the most diverse barrier/inlet coast in the world (Davis, 1994). In addition, the barriers have formed over a wide range of time scales from decades to millennia. The oldest of the barriers have been dated at 3,000 years (Stapor and others, 1988) and others have formed during the past two decades. The barrier system includes long, wave-dominated examples as well as drumstick barriers that are characteristic of mixed wave and tidal energy. Historical data on the very young barriers and stratigraphic data from coring older ones indicate that the barriers formed as the result of a gentle wave climate transporting sediment to shallow water and shoaling upward to intertidal and eventually supratidal conditions. The barriers probably formed close to their present position and several have been aided in their location and development by antecedent topography produced by the shallow Miocene limestone bedrock (Evans and others, 1985). The two most important variables that control barrier-island development along the coast are the availability of sediment and the interaction of wave and tidal energy.