Coasts Flashcards
1
Q
Hydraulic action
A
waves power forces water into cracks and erodes it
2
Q
attrition
A
when rocks erode other rocks
3
Q
Abrasion
A
when rocks hit against a cliff and erode it
4
Q
solution
A
when chemical in the sea dissolve minerals in the rocks causing them to erode
5
Q
Formation of cliffs and wavecut platforms
A
- coastal processes erode the bottom of the cliff
- erosion causes a wave cut notch
- top of the cliff becomes unstable and falls into the sea
6
Q
Formation of caves, arches and stacks
A
- hydraulic action forces water into a crack in a cliff
- continuous erosion forces the crack to widen and from a cave
- further erosion pushes water all the way through the cave to form an arch
- erosion causes roof of arch to become unstable
- top of the arch falls into the sea leaving a stack which is seperated into the sea not attached to the rest of the cliff.
7
Q
Formation of headlands and bays
A
- coastal processes erode rocks at diffrent rates
- clay is much easier to erode faster than sandstone
- bays are formed where the softer rock has been eroded in the middle of the sandstone rock
- the areas of harder rock are more resistant to erosion and extend into the sea forming headlands
8
Q
Process of longshore drift
A
- prevailing winds push waves towards the coast at an angle.
- the waves carry material (swash up to the beach)
- as the waves retreat some of the material is transported straight back down into the sea (backwash)
- this process continues
9
Q
formation of sandspits
A
- longshore drift brings material up the beach
- deposition continues until material is extends out into the sea forming a spit
10
Q
Formation of a sand bar
A
- longshore drift carries material along the beach
2 deposition continues until material is extends out into the sea forming a spit - deposited material reaches all the way across a bay to from a sand bar
- the strip of land blocks off the bay creating a pool of water behnd it called a lagoon
