coastal features Flashcards
steep cliffs
Cliffs are steep if removal of material at its base is greater than supply
shallow cliffs
Cliffs are shallow if the supply of material is greater than removal.
Hard rock cliffs
Examples include granite and basalt cliffs. They exhibit a slow rate of erosion and tend to be stable.
Soft rock cliffs
Examples include cliffs comprised of glacial till and clay, such as those found at Fair light Cove in Hastings.
These cliffs often erode rapidly. In these cliffs, sub-aerial processes can contribute more to erosion than marine processes, leading to mass movements such as sliding, slumping and falls.
Headlands
Usually found where less resistant and more resistant rock alternates. the stronger rock remains as headlands
bays
Usually found where less resistant and more resistant rock alternates. The less resistant rock is attacked, first forming bays
Wave cut platforms
These are gently sloping features, often found extending from the base of a cliff. They consist partly of material removed from the cliff (wave cut notch) as a result of continual undercutting by waves.
Caves
a natural underground chamber in a hillside or cliff.
arches
Formation of Sea Arch. At headland, wave erosion is most concentrate because of wave refraction. Destructive waves erode along the line of weakness, e.g. fault line or joint, that lies across the headland.
stacks
A stack or sea stack is a geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast
blowholes
a blowhole is formed as sea caves grow landwards and upwards into vertical shafts and expose themselves towards the surface, which can result in blasts of water from the top of the blowhole if the geometry of the cave and blowhole and state of the weather are appropriate.
Stumps
Stumps are stacks that have been eroded and lost height.
