Coastal Geography and Plate Tectonics Flashcards

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering coastal processes, features of erosion and deposition, coastal management strategies, and the fundamentals of plate tectonics.

Bay

A curved area where the waves have eroded the coastline, often where soft rock is present.

Headland

An area of hard rock jutting out into the sea that is resistant to erosion.

Hydraulic Action

The physical force of waves breaking material off the coastline, particularly strong during storms.

Abrasion

The process where loose material like rocks and sand is thrown against the coastline by waves, breaking more material off.

Attrition

The process where stones carried in the water hit against each other, breaking down into smaller pieces and eventually sand.

Solution

A type of erosion where certain rocks, such as limestone, are dissolved by the water.

Compression

Occurs when waves trap and compress air in cliff cracks; the subsequent release of pressure when the wave retreats causes the rock to shatter.

Sea Cave

An opening formed at the base of a cliff when hydraulic action erodes a weak spot.

Sea Arch

An arched-shaped tunnel that stretches through a headland, formed when two caves erode back-to-back.

Sea Stack

A pillar of rock left standing in the sea after a sea arch collapses.

Sea Stump

The eroded remains of a sea stack, which may sometimes only be visible during low tide.

Sea Cliff

A vertical or steep slope on the coastline formed by wave erosion and the collapse of overhanging rock.

Wave-cut platform

A flat area of rock at the base of a cliff, visible at low tide, representing the former base before the cliff retreated.

Longshore Drift

The process of transporting material along the coastline in a zig-zag fashion due to waves approaching at an angle.

Swash

The water that rushes up onto the beach after a wave breaks.

Backwash

The water that flows back down the beach into the sea under the influence of gravity.

Fetch

The distance of open sea over which the wind blows to create waves.

Constructive Waves

Low-energy waves where the swash is stronger than the backwash, leading to deposition.

Destructive Waves

High-energy, steep waves where the backwash is stronger than the swash, leading to erosion.

Beach

A build-up of sand and shingle deposited by constructive waves between the high and low water marks.

Sand Dunes

Mounds of sand that build up at the back of a beach when onshore winds blow dry sand inland.

Marram Grass

A coarse grass with deep roots planted on sand dunes to bind the sand together and prevent it from blowing further inland.

Sand Spit

A long ridge of sand or shingle connected to the mainland at one end and stretching across a bay.

Sand Bar

A ridge of sand that grows across a bay, connecting to the mainland on the other side and cutting off a section of water.

Lagoon

An area of water or a lake that has been completely separated from the sea by a sand bar.

Tombolo

A ridge of sand or depositional feature that connects the mainland to an island.

Sea Wall

A concrete barrier built along the coast to reflect wave energy back to sea and prevent flooding.

Gabion

Wire cages filled with rocks used to absorb wave energy and protect the shoreline.

Rock Armour

Large boulders placed along the coast to absorb the energy of the waves and reduce erosion.

Groynes

Wall-like structures built perpendicular to the shore to trap sediment and interrupt longshore drift.

Inner Core

The solid center of the Earth, characterized by extremely high temperatures of approximately $6,000^{\circ}C$.

Outer Core

The layer of the Earth consisting of liquid nickel and iron in a molten state.

Mantle

The layer found under the crust consisting of hot molten and semi-molten rock called magma.

Crust

The thin, solid outer layer of the Earth, divided into oceanic and continental plates.

Tectonic Plates

Large, moving pieces of solid rock that make up the Earth's crust.

Pangaea

A massive supercontinent that existed over 250 million years ago when all continents were connected.

Continental Drift

The process by which the continental plates broke apart and moved to their current locations.

Convection Currents

Circular motions in the mantle caused by heat from the core that drive the movement of tectonic plates.

Plate Boundary

The point or region where two tectonic plates meet.

Constructive Boundary

A divergent boundary where plates separate, allowing magma to rise and cool to form new crust.

Destructive Boundary

A convergent boundary where plates collide, often resulting in one plate being pulled into the mantle.

Subduction

The process where an oceanic plate collides with a continental plate and is pulled down into the mantle to melt.

Transform Boundary

A passive boundary where plates slide past each other, often leading to faults and earthquakes.