Geography-yr8-key terms-Michaelmas exam

Abrasion

A type of erosion where sediment in the sea scrapes away at the rock

Arch

a gap in a headland created by erosion

Backwash

A flow of water and sediment back down the beach to the sea

Bay

a broad curved inlet on the coastline

Corrosion

A type of erosion when soft rock is dissolved by the sea water

Deposition

when sediment gets dropped by the sea or river

Erosion

the wearing away of the land by a moving force

Groynes

wooden/concrete barriers on beaches to slow down the movement of sediment along the beach

Hydraulic action

type of erosion where the force of the water wears the rock away

Longshore drift

the movement of sediment along a beach by the sea

Sea wall

A wall built to reduce the impact of erosion

Slack

an area of still water often where river flow meets sea tide/waves

Spit

a narrow strip of sand or shingle which protrudes from the shoreline into the mouth of a river

Swash

movement of water up a beach after the wave has broken

Wave refraction

how waves change direction when they meet an obstacle like a headland

Wave-cut platform

flat area of rock in front of a cliff often exposed at low tide