Coastal erosion and landforms

Question 1

what is the main difference between weathering and erosion?

Answer 1

weathering is when rocks are broken down where they are and erosion is where rocks are broken down and carried away by something

Question 2

what is the name for the waves that carry out erosional processes?

Answer 2

destructive waves

Question 3

what are the three features of a destructive wave?

Answer 3

• high frequency
• their backwash is stronger than their swash
• they’re high and steep

Question 4

what is the effect of a wave having a stronger backwash than swash?

Answer 4

material is removed from the coast

Question 5

what are the two factors that affect the size and power of a wave?

Answer 5

the force of the wind and the fetch

Question 6

what is the ‘fetch’?

Answer 6

the fetch is the distance of water the wind has blown over to produce a wave

Question 7

what is a wave cut platform?

Answer 7

a wave cut platform is a platform of rock which is left behind when the cliff retreats

Question 8

how does the material move in a “slide”?

Answer 8

the material moves in a straight line

Question 9

how does the material move in a “slump”?

Answer 9

the material moves with a rotation

Question 10

how does the material move in a “rockfall”?

Answer 10

the material moves vertically

Question 11

how are headlands and bays created?

Answer 11

bands of less resistant and more resistant rock are both eroded, however the less resistant rock erodes at a faster speed creating a bay and leaving behind a headland of more resistant rock

Question 12

Is boulder clay a resistant or less resistant rock?

Answer 12

a less resistant

Question 13

Is chalk a resistant or less resistant rock?

Answer 13

resistant

Question 14

describe the journey that creates a; cracks, cave, arch, stack, stump formation

Answer 14

The cracks are extremely weak and continuos erosion causes the cracks to widen and become a cave.
erosion deepens the cave until it breaks through and produces an arch, the arch can no longer support itself and so collapses; therefore a stack is formed.
The bottom of the stack is then eroded and the stack collapses and forms a stump.

Question 15

what is a cove?

Answer 15

a cove is a wide, circular bay with a narrow entrance

Question 16

under what condition do coves form?

Answer 16

when there’s a band of harder rock with a band of softer rock behind it

Question 17

what is long shore drift?

Answer 17

The movement of material along the coast

Question 18

what are constructive waves?

Answer 18

constructive waves are waves that deposit more than they erode, therefore building up the coastline

Question 19

what two factors create constructive waves?

Answer 19

weaker winds and a shorter fetch

Question 20

how are beaches formed?

Answer 20

beaches are formed by deposition

Question 21

what are the characteristics of a sand beach?

Answer 21

sand beaches are flat and wide with a long gentle slope

Question 22

what are the characteristics of a shingle beach?

Answer 22

shingle beaches are steep and narrow with a steep slope

Question 23

which coastal transport creates spits and bars?

Answer 23

long shore drift

Question 24

where do spits form?

Answer 24

at sharp bends at the coastline

Question 25

what is a bar?

Answer 25

A bar is where two headlands join

Question 26

what is a tombolo?

Answer 26

A tombolo is a bar that connects the shore to an island