Coasts Flashcards
What is a coast?
The coast is the edge of the land/where the land and sea meet
What is a beach?
 a pebbly or Sandy shore, especially by the sea between high and low tides
What is a cliff?
A steep rock face
What is a headland?
A narrow piece of hard land that projects into the sea
What is a bay?
 an area of soft rock where the coastline curves inward
What is erosion?
Erosion is the process by which rocks are worn or broken down and displaced
What is abrasion?
Is when the waves pick up rocks and throw them against the cliffs or other rocks
What is attrition?
Is when the sea picks up rocks and knocks them into each other, making them smoother
What is solution?
This is when salts or chemicals in the water dissolve the rocks they touch
What is hydraulic action?
This is when the power of the waves force water and air into cracks in the rock which forces to split them apart 
What is physical weathering?
Is when rocks, soil and minerals slowly being broken down by pressure, temperature, water or ice
What is chemical weathering?
The breaking down of rocks, soil and minerals by chemical reactions E.G.minerals dissolving an acid rain
What are the three types of weathering?
Physical, biological and chemical
What is longshore drift?
The movement of material along the coast in the direction of the prevailing winds
How are waves made?
The waves are moved by wind dragging across the surface of water
What is backwash?
The backwash is when water washes up on the coast and moves material back off the beach
What sort of defences do we have against erosion?
Seawall, GROYNES and rock armour
What is transport?
The sea a roads coastlines but then moves a eroded material along and away from beaches and cliffs, this is transportation and it is controlled by the waves
What are constructive and destructive waves?
Constructive and destructive waves shape up beaches by either building them up or loading them down
What is a fetch?
The length of water the wind blows over 
When do waves eat away at the land?
When the backwash is stronger than the uprush, it takes the sand and materials therefore eating away at the land
How does the moon affect the tides?
The moon orbits the Earth and its gravitational pole makes the ocean rise and fall

