coastal landforms

Destructive Waves

High energy waves that cause erosion, having stronger backwash than swash, and occur during stormy weather.

Constructive Waves

Low energy waves that create beaches through deposition, with stronger swash than backwash, occurring in calm weather and during summer months.

Discordant Coastlines

Coastlines where bands of different rock types run perpendicular to the coast, leading to the formation of headlands and bays due to differing resistance to erosion.

Headlands

Areas of hard rock that remain after softer rock has retreated due to erosion, forming from differential erosion in discordant coastlines.

Formation of a Stump

Occurs when waves erode a headland, creating caves and arches which eventually collapse, leading to the formation of a stack and subsequently a stump.

Beaches

Depositional coastal landforms consisting of material built up between high and low tide marks, made primarily from constructive waves.

Longshore Drift

The movement of beach material along the coast driven by waves approaching at an angle, determined by prevailing wind direction.

Spits

Extended stretches of beach projecting into the sea, joined to the mainland at one end and formed where prevailing winds blow at an angle to the coastline.

Tombolo

A spit that connects the mainland to an island, exemplified by Chesil Beach connecting to Portland.

Prevailing Winds

The most dominant wind direction that influences wave approach and sediment transport along coastlines.

Cliffs

Steep rock formations at the coast that can be formed through erosive processes by destructive waves.

Wave Refraction

The bending of waves as they approach the shore, leading to variations in wave energy and erosion.

Erosion

The process by which rocks and soil are removed from the Earth's surface by wind or water.

Deposition

The geological process in which sediments, soil, and rocks are added to a landform or land mass.

Gentle Slopes

Coastal areas with less steep gradients, often associated with constructive waves and beach formation.

Coastal Management

Strategies employed to maintain the coast's integrity and prevent erosion, incorporating hard and soft engineering techniques.

Hard Engineering

Coastal management strategies that involve constructing physical structures, such as sea walls and groynes, to protect coastlines.

Soft Engineering

Coastal management strategies that work with natural processes, such as beach nourishment and managed retreat, to protect coastlines.

Bays

Coastal indentations formed between headlands, often sheltered from strong wave action.

Stack

A tall, vertical column of rock that remains after erosion has worn away surrounding rock, often forming from a headland.