Enquiry question 1: Why are coastal landscapes different and what processes cause these differences? Flashcards
What is the littoral zone?
The wider coastal zone including adjacent land areas and shallow parts of the sea just offshore.
How can the littoral zone be divided?
Into a number of subzones: Coast Backshore Foreshore Nearshore Offshore
What is the backshore zone?
Above high tide level, is only affected by waves during exceptionally high tides (spring tides) and during major storms.
Where are wave processes normally confined to?
The foreshore between the high and low tide marks
What is the nearshore?
Shallow water areas close to land-often one of intense human activity (fishing and leisure), but also forms part of the physical system of the coastline through transfers of sediment by currents close to shore.
What are the two main types of coast?
Rocky (or cliffed) coastlines
Coastal plains
What is a rocky coastline?
Coastline with cliffs varying in height from a few metres to hundreds of metres; cliffs formed from rock but hardness of the rock is variable.
Result from resistant geology
Often in a high-energy environment
What are coastal plains?
sandy and estuarine coasts
The land gradually slopes towards the sea across an area of deposited sediment, with sand dunes and mud flats (most common examples. These coasts are sometimes called alluvial coasts.
Found near areas of low relief
Result from supply of sediment from different terrestrial and offshore sources.
Often in a low-energy environment.
What is a cliff profile?
The height and angle of a cliff face as well as its features, eg wave cut notches or changes in slope angle.
What are the two dominant types of coast and what are they produced by?
Concordant and discordant coasts are produced by geological structure.
What are concordant coasts?
(Pacific coasts) are generated when rock strata run parallel to the coastline.
What are discordant coasts?
(Atlantic coasts) form when different rock strata intersect the coast at an angle, so geology varies along the coastline.
What are discordant coasts dominated by?
Headlands and bays
Less-resistant rocks eroded to form bays whereas more resistant geology remains as headlands.
What does geological structure influence?
Coastal morphology: Dalmatian and haff type concordant coasts and headlands and bays on discordant coasts.
Erosion rates
Formation of cliff profiles and micro-features, eg caves.
Name 4 types of geological structure
Jointing
Dip
Faulting
Folding
