Saltburn to Flamborough Head (high energy coast)

location

• East coast of Yorkshire, North-East England, facing the North Sea.

• rocky, upland area

Geology

Flamborough Head is a large chalk headland, with tips made out of deposit left by the glaciers during the Devensain period. The north York moors is 400m above sea level and made out of limestone left from the Jurassic period, as well as sandstones and carboniferous rocks.

Energy

• dominant waves with a fetch of over 1500km, from the north and north-west. The north facing parts of the coastline are the most exposed- wave height exceeds 4m

• responsible for significant longshore drift. In some places its interrupt and forms beaches and bays such as Filey Bay.

• rate of erosion: 0.8m/y for shale/clay, 0.qm/y for sandstone/limestone

Headlands and Bays

Headlands and bays have formed over the coastline due to the variation in rock types. Clay is flanked by more resistant limestone and chalk, the prominent headland at Flamborough is formed of chalk with deep bays either side formed from clay.

Sediment sources

• The coastline between Saltburn and Flamborough Head lies in sub-cell 1D of the major sediment cell 1, extending from St Abbs to Flamborough Head.

• Sediment originates mainly from the nearshore zone, deposited when glaciers melted ~100,000 years ago (last glacial period).

• Cliff erosion of sandstone, chalk, and boulder clay adds large amounts of gravel and sand to the sediment budget.

• The River Esk is the only major fluvial source, but it supplies limited sediment due to weirs and reinforced banks.

• Overall, sediment levels on beaches have increased due to ongoing coastal erosion.

Landforms on headlands

• Wave refraction focuses wave energy on resistant headlands projecting into the North Sea, increasing erosion.

• Weaknesses (joints and faults) erode to form caves and arches.

• At Selwick’s Bay, a joint in the chalk enlarged to create caves and arches.

• Green Stacks Pinnacle formed after the collapse of an arch roof.

• Over 50 geos have developed along the coastline, facing the dominant wave direction.

• Blowholes formed where vertical joints in chalk were widened, and chalk/boulder clay collapsed into sea caves, creating funnel-shaped depressions on cliff tops.

• On the north of Selwick’s Bay, several blowholes have merged, forming a larger inlet through continued collapse.

Cliffs

• sedimentary rocks are horizontally bedded, producing vertical cliff faces.

• cliffs are capped by weak glacial till with a gentler angle (~40°) due to mass movement.

• At Flamborough Head, cliffs are made of strong chalk, 20–30 m high, with tightly bonded particles.

• In the north, cliffs are higher and steeper, showing varied geology.

• Resistant sandstones and limestones form steeper profiles, while weaker clays and shales create gentler slopes, both shaped by erosion and mass movement.

Beaches

• few well-developed beaches along this coastline. mainly found in sheltered, low-energy environments such as Scarborough and Filey Bay

• elsewhere, deposits of sand and shingle accumulate slowly owing to the low input of sediment from the rivers and slow rates of erosion of the resistant rocks

• high-energy waves also remove sediment before it can accumulate. LSD is considerable but coastline lacks spits and other drift-aligned features. This is due to high tidal range of 4m, + lack of estuarine environments that would provide sediment sinks.