Holderness Coastline

Question 1

Landforms of Holderness

Answer 1

• Flamborough Head (hard rock)
• Spurn Head (classic spit)
• Bridlington Bay (extensive zone of erosion and sediment transfer, very rapid rate of cliff retreat)

Question 2

Factors affecting the coastal system

Answer 2

• Geology: Chalk, a resistant rock, forms a broad arc in the region. The seaward front is made of till from the movements of the last Ice Age.
• Winds: From the north-east (direction with greatest fetch), it can create powerful waves. Areas of extremely low pressure funnel water and create storm surges several metres high. Low frequency, high magnitude events can lead to significant erosion and flooding (1953, 300 deaths).
• Hard Engineering: Because of the rapid erosion and threat to settlement and infrastructure, hard engineering was introduced (rock armour, sea walls and groynes). They have defended areas such as Mappleton but increased coastal erosion elsewhere.

Question 3

Flamborough Head

Answer 3

• Made of chalk, located on the east coast of England.
• Layers/beds of chalk are clearly visible and are roughly horizontal.
• Vertical cracks run through the chalk (joints), and in some places chalk has been displaced along lines (faults).
• Joints and faults are weaknesses in the chalk, readily exploited by processes of weathering and erosion to form narrow clefts in the coastline.
• A major faultline has become Selwick’s Bay.
• The sea is actively eroding and undercutting the cliffs leading to frequent rockfalls. Overtime, cliff retreat forms wave-cut platforms and stacks.

Question 4

Bridlington Bay to Spurn Head

Answer 4

• Has retreated by up to 5km since Roman times.
• Rate of erosion exceeds 1m per year (up to 10m a year in places) - the Holderness has one of the most rapid rates of erosion in Europe.
• The erosion has generated vast amounts of sediment, which is transferred to the south by LSD (longshore drift).
• Spurn Head is nourished by this sediment transfer, it protects the towns and land bordering the River Humber from the effects of storms and flooding.

Question 5

Spurn Head

Answer 5

• It represents a temporary sediment store or sink. Much of the material that forms it is derived from the Holderness coast and is transferred south via LSD.
• It has a curved tip because of direct wave action.
• Extremely narrow for the majority of its length, and is frequently breached and destroyed by storms.
• First formed 8000 years ago, at the end of the last glacial period.
• A massive breach in 1849, groynes and revetments were erected to stabilise the spit.
• In the 1960s, the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Trust was unable to afford the maintenance of the coastal defences.
• In 2013, the defences could not cope, meaning buildings were destroyed and the access road swept away.