Coasts landforms

Question 1

Swash-aligned beach

Answer 1

The pebbly and/or sandy shore between high and low seawater marks

Formed when waves approach the coastline parallel to the beach. The swash and backwash move sediments up and down the beach; this can lead to the formation of a storm beach (the highest of material on the beach), berms (other ridges of material deposited below the storm beach) and runnels (which may fill with water) between ridges lower down the beach

(depositional)

Question 2

Swash-aligned beach

Answer 2

The pebbly and/or sandy shore between high and low seawater marks

Formed when waves approach the coastline parallel to the beach. The swash and backwash move sediments up and down the beach; this can lead to the formation of a storm beach (the highest of material on the beach), berms (other ridges of material deposited below the storm beach) and runnels (which may fill with water) between ridges lower down the beach

Question 3

Swash-aligned beach

Answer 3

The pebbly and/or sandy shore between high and low seawater marks

Formed when waves approach the coastline parallel to the beach. The swash and backwash move sediments up and down the beach; this can lead to the formation of a storm beach (the highest of material on the beach), berms (other ridges of material deposited below the storm beach) and runnels (which may fill with water) between ridges lower down the beach

Question 4

Swash-aligned beach

Answer 4

The pebbly and/or sandy shore between high and low seawater marks

Formed when waves approach the coastline parallel to the beach. The swash and backwash move sediments up and down the beach; this can lead to the formation of a storm beach

Question 5

Swash-aligned beach

Answer 5

The pebbly and/or sandy shore between high and low seawater marks

Formed when waves approach the coastline parallel to the

Question 6

Drift-aligned beach

Answer 6

Like swash-aligned beach
Formed when waves approach the coastline at an angle and sediment is moved along the coast by the action of longshore drift. Controlled using groynes.

Question 7

Shingle ridge

Answer 7

d

Question 8

Shingle ridge

Answer 8

A (low to high) ridge of shingle that is built up on a beach , often helping to form a protective barrier for the land behind

Requires a gently shelving shore; waves sort shingle (fine gravel and shell fragments) from the sands and heap the coarser particles into low ridges. Once accumulated, the shingle may be gradually moved onshore by swash (and along by LSD) where it’s added to the upper parts of the beach

Question 9

Shingle ridge

Answer 9

A (low to high) ridge of shingle that is built up on a beach , often helping to form a protective barrier for the land behind

Requires a gently shelving shore; waves sort shingle (fine gravel and shell fragments) from the sands and heap the coarser particles into low ridges. Once accumulated, the shingle may be gradually moved onshore by swash (and along by LSD) where it’s added to the upper parts of the beach

Question 10

Spit

Answer 10

An elongated ridge of sand or shingle

Question 11

Spit

Answer 11

An elongated ridge of sand or shingle attached to land at one end and finishing in open sea at the other

Spits form as a result of LSD in areas where a change in the direction of the coastline or a river entering the sea disrupts the drift of sediment along a coastline. A spit forms as a detached beach from the point of this disruption.

Question 12

Spit

Answer 12

An elongated ridge of sand or shingle attached to land at one end and finishing in open sea at the other

Spits form as a result of LSD in areas where a change in the direction of the coastline or a river entering the sea disrupts the drift of sediment along a coastline. A spit forms as a detached beach from the point of this disruption.

Question 13

Salt marsh

Answer 13

An intertidal marsh with salt tolerant plants.

Salt marshes develop in areas sheltered from wave action

Question 14

Salt marsh

Answer 14

An intertidal marsh with salt tolerant plants.

Salt marshes develop in areas sheltered from wave action by flocculation; sea plants first establish and allow organic material

Question 15

Drift-aligned beach

Answer 15

Like swash-aligned beach
Formed when waves approach the coastline at an angle and sediment is moved along the coast by the action of longshore drift. Controlled using groynes.

(depositional)

Question 16

Shingle ridge

Answer 16

A (low to high) ridge of shingle that is built up on a beach , often helping to form a protective barrier for the land behind

Requires a gently shelving shore; waves sort shingle (fine gravel and shell fragments) from the sands and heap the coarser particles into low ridges. Once accumulated, the shingle may be gradually moved onshore by swash (and along by LSD) where it’s added to the upper parts of the beach

(depositional)

Question 17

Spit

Answer 17

An elongated ridge of sand or shingle attached to land at one end and finishing in open sea at the other

Spits form as a result of LSD in areas where a change in the direction of the coastline or a river entering the sea disrupts the drift of sediment along a coastline. A spit forms as a detached beach from the point of this disruption.

(depositional)

Question 18

Salt marsh

Answer 18

An intertidal marsh with salt tolerant plants.

Salt marshes develop in areas sheltered from wave action by flocculation; sea plants first establish and allow organic material to build up

(depositional)

Question 19

Sand dunes

Answer 19

An area of sand with plants, maybe quite hilly, next to the shoreline

Dunes form where constructive waves encourage the accumulation of sand, and where prevailing onshore winds blow this sand inland. There need to be obstacles, e.g vegetation, to trap the moving sand dunes

(depositional)

Question 20

Tombolo

Answer 20

A ridge of sand joining an island onto the mainland

The same formation as a spit, expect that a tombolo connects to another landmass, it does not finish in open sea.

(depositional)

Question 21

Wave cut notch

Answer 21

A small opening in cliffs caused by wave erosion. They are fundamental to the underminin

Question 22

Wave cut notch

Answer 22

A small opening in cliffs caused by wave erosion. They are fundamental to the undermining of cliff faces through the formation of caves

(erosional)

Question 23

Cave

Answer 23

Caves develop from the deepening of notches where there are notches

Question 24

Cave

Answer 24

Caves develop from the deepening of notches where there are weaknesses in the cliff face. Hydraulic action and abrasion are the main causes

Question 25

Arch

Answer 25

Sea arches are formed by 2 caves joining together as they retreat backwards from opposite directions

Question 26

Stacks and stumps

Answer 26

Free standing pillars of rock in the sea. They result from the break up of a headland, e.g from the collapse of a sea arch. A stump is a small rocky platform - the remains of a stack

Question 27

Intertidal or wave-cut platform

Answer 27

A platform extending across the intertidal zone, it is the remaining base of a cliff after erosion has taken place and it has retreated. Some have small stacks; older platforms tend to be flat.

Question 28

Cliff

Answer 28

d

Question 29

Cliff

Answer 29

OED = a cliff is a steep rock face, but cliffs vary tremendously in their lithology (the materials that make them up), as well as their height and profile . All contribute to cliff retreat or stability; marine processes and sub-aerial processes also contribute to erosion.

Question 30

Cliff

Answer 30

OED = a cliff is a steep rock face, but cliffs vary tremendously in their lithology (the materials that make them up), as well as their height and profile . All contribute to cliff retreat or stability; marine processes and sub-aerial processes also contribute to erosion.

Question 31

Slope-over-wall cliff

Answer 31

Due to recent falls in sea level due to deglaciation, an earlier (sloped) cliff face has been left much higher up the current (vertical) cliffs.