In order to understand the sedimentary environment of the southern intertidal zone of Shihwa Lake, west coast of Gyeonggi-do, 10 surface and 2 core sediment samples were analysed for grain size, water content, AVS (Acid Volatile Sulfide), TOC (Total Organic Carbon), concentrations of metals (Al, Fe, Mn, Cu, As, Pb, Zn, Ni, Cd, and Cr). The surface sediments are generally poorly sorted (0.60∼2.31 φ) sandy Silt, slightly gravelly muddy Sand, silty Sand,
Sand with mean grain size of 2.95 to 6.00 φ. The sediments contain Al (1.54%), Fe (1.75%), Cu (9.1ppm), As (1.1ppm), Pb (18.8 ppm), Ni (11.0 ppm), Cd (0.02 ppm), and Cr (30.1 ppm) on the average. Heavy metals are concentrated less than ERL (Effect Range-Low), verified by NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). In the core sediments, they are also less than the ERL. Based on the uniform vertical distribution of excess radioactivity of ²¹⁰Pb, the core sediments seen to have been actively mixed biologically or rapidly deposited after the
construction of Shi-Hwa Seawall. The 'enrichment factor' of metals, normalized to Al, shows that the upper sediments of 35 cm in depth are more polluted. infect was significant in 2 core sediment samples in 35 cm below layer.