Coasts Flashcards
Deposition
The dropping of material
Long shore drift
The transportation of material along a coastline by waves
Headland
A piece of land that juts out into the sea
Bay
A broad coastal inlet often with a beach
Discordant
Where rocks are at right angles to the sea
Hydraulic action
The power of the eaves puts pressure on the cracks in the cliff
Abrasion
Rocks in the sea scrape along a cliff like sandpaper or smash into a cliff
Attrition
Where rocks hit each other in the sea and get smaller
Solution
Where there is a chemical reaction between the water and rock. The rock dissolves.
Fetch
The distance over which the wind has blown
Prevailing wind
Main direction where the wind comes from
Subaerial processes
The processes of weathering affecting the cliff area
Overhang
Where the soft rock erodes much quicker than the hard rock which is above it
Concordant
Where the rocks are parallel to the sea
Stack
A column of rock in the sea near a coast, formed by wave erosion
Stump
When erosion caused the stack to collapse, leaving a smaller version of a stack (a stump).
Destructive wave
They are big strong waves that usually have travelled over a long fetch. They have a stronger backwash than smash.
Constructive wave
They are small low waves that are less powerful than destructive waves. They have a stronger smash than backwash.
Coast
The land along he sea
Coastline
The boundary of a coast, where the land meets the water.
Wave cut platform
Occurs when the hard rock falls down (multiple times) due to no soft rock beneath it to support it. A wave cut platform is the rock which lays at the bottom of the sea bed
Groynes
Timber or rock that juts out into the sea and traps sediment from being moved down the coast by long shore drift.
Beach nourishment
Sand pushed onto the beach
Rock armour
Piles of large boulders dumped at the fort of cliffs, forcing waves to break, protecting the cliffs from eroding back as quickly.
Gabions
Small rocks in cages which are built into the cliff surface. Hard engineering.
