Distinctive landscapes case studies 🏞️🏔️🪨

What is the background of the holderness coast?

Located in East Yorkshire

Is 61km long from Flamborough head in the north to spurn point in the south

Fastest eroding coastline in Europe with an average rate of 2m/year

What is the geology like on the holderness coast?

Flamborough head in the north is a headland made of chalk a resistant rock

Spurn point in a spit, made up of sand washed along the coastline

The rest of the holderness coast is glacial till which is not very resistant and is easily eroded by the North Sea.

What are the landforms at Flamborough head?

Caves, arches, stacks and stumps.

What is Flamborough head?

It is a headland made from the different rock types.

What is the landforms at spurn point?

A spit made from long shore drift.

What is an example of human activity along the coastline?

Mappleton.

It’s a small village just south of Bridlington and Hornsea on the coast.

It’s protected by sea defences due to the main road that runs through the village (B1242) and so has been protected since 1991.

There is high erosion rates around the area so the road was at risk and that is why they chose to protect it.

It cost £2 million and involved

One rock revetment at the base of the cliff to absorb wave energy before the wave hits the cliff

Two rock groynes to stop the long shore drift and create a beach in front

Cliff regrading and stabilisation - changing the angle of the cliff to reduce impact at the base.

These defences have been successful

What are the negatives to these human defences at mappleton?

Places south of the groynes have seen an increase in erosion due to ‘terminal groyne syndrome’

As sediment is being trapped by the groynes to protect mappleton, it isn’t being transported down the coast to the other beaches further down.

Theses beaches are then decreasing in size and there is less protection when the waves reach the cliff

An example of this is cliff house farm has seen a big increase in erosion and this started after the protection was put into place, averaging 1m per month.

What is the background of the river tees?

Is located in the northeast of England.

If flows east for 128 km from its source near cross fell in the Pennines to its mouth, on the North Sea coast near Middlesbrough.

what is the influence of geology on this river?

It is important at high force waterfall. A band of hard, resistant rock (whinstone) sits on top of a weaker, less resistant rock (sandstone). This composition of rock led to high force waterfall

What is the climate like?

Despite generally mild winters, near the source in the Pennines, temperatures can be much colder. In winter the ground can regularly freeze, leading to freeze-thaw weathering breaking up rocks here. This can weaken the Valley sides and lead to landslides. This added material in the rivers loads increases erosive power through abrasion.

Heavy rainfall near the source can also add to the rivers volume rapidly. (1980mm). This can lead to an increase in transportation of material, which can also cause more abrasion in the upper course.

What is an example of an upper course landform?

A V-shaped valley eg cauldron snout. This is created because the river tees flows over hard, impermeable rocks (eg basalt and dolerite). The river here has lots of energy to erode vertically and wear away this resistant rock. Over many years of repeated erosion and weathering of the Valley sides it creates a v-shaped valley.

What landform is near yarm?

Lateral erosion on the lower course has created meanders. These have formed due to the relief creating flow, which causes the river to Ben round obstacles. Over time the faster water flow on the outside of the bend has created river cliffs and a deeper river, due to the faster water flow increasing erosion. On the inside of the bend where the river flow is at its slowest, deposition creates a point bar and slip off slope.

What is the high force waterfall?

Approximately 20 meters high and 10 meters wide.

The hard rock is whinstone and the soft rock is sandstone.

Over thousands of years the waterfall had retreated, creating a 700 meter long gorge.

What is another type of landform?

Floodplains and levees.

Happen where the area around the river is flat.

Repeated flooding has led to the development of floodplains along the river tees.

Some of these areas are used for industry.

Near Neasham, repeated flooding and deposition of larger, heavier material next to the river has led to the development of levees.

Give an example of human activity on the river which is used to provide water?

Cow green reservoir.

Built in 1970.

To provide water for growing industries on tees side.

It stores water in the winter to help manage supply in the summer.

It can also hold back water in times of flood.

What are the negatives of cow green reservoir?

Affected geomorphic processes.

It limits natural flow of water downstream.

Material carried by the river is deposited in the reservoir due to the slower flow here.

This can increase erosion downstream and reduce the natural build up of the floodplain in the lower course of the river.

What is the human activity that improved navigation?

Straightening of the mandale loop near Stockton.

In 1810, the tees navigation company cut across the neck of the Mandale loop, a large meander near Stockton.

The new route shortened the river by 4 km.

Other stretches of the river have been artificially straightened.

This allows water to move faster along the channel due to less friction, which can increase erosion and decrease decomposition.

What human activity was put in place at yarm?

Since the 1995 flood, a new flood defence scheme costing £2.1 million has been built at Yarm.

The environment agency have put in reinforced concrete walls with 34 metal flood gates for access by people and vehicles.

Built earth embankments (levees) and put in gabions to protect walls and embankments from erosion.

New development has discouraged building on low-lying and flood-prone land.

Although these builds reduce flooding this affects the natural geomorphic processes.

There is less sediment available to construct floodplains and natural levees may not be built up.