Additional landforms

What are beaches formed by?

Deposition

What are beaches?

A build up on sand, shingle and stone which are deposited by the swash

What are the building up on beaches caused by?

Constructive waves - they have a stronger swash than backwash

What are spits formed by?

Longshore drift and deposition

What are spits?

The deposit of beach material in the sea into a long strip when the coast direction changes

What happens when the sea current or wind direction changes for spits?

The direction of the sediment build up also changes, creating a ‘hook’ at the end of the spit

What are offshore bars formed by?

Deposition

What are offshore bars?

Where waves break some distance from the shore in shallow seas

What happens when offshore bars form where steep waves break?

A strong backwash is created which carries materials back down the beach and forms a ridge

What is an estuary?

A semi-enclosed body of water where fresh water from a river or stream mixes with saltwater from the ocean

How are rock pools formed?

Erosion

What are rock pools?

Low tide areas have water draw back and abrasion scours wave-cut platforms and create eddies (circles) - these erode hollows into the wave cut platforms to make these