Saltburn to Flamborough Head

Question 1

Where is it?

Answer 1

Along the coast of the North York Moors

Question 2

How long is the coastline?

Answer 2

60km

Question 3

What are the main types of rock?

Answer 3

Sandstone, Shale and limestone

Question 4

What period was the coastline formed in?

Answer 4

Jurassic

Question 5

What is Flamborough Head like?

Answer 5

A large chalk headland with a superficial deposit of material left by glaciers in the devonian period (till) ontop.

Question 6

Where are the dominant waves from?

Answer 6

North and Northeast

Question 7

How long is the fetch of the waves?

Answer 7

1500km

Question 8

Where is the most vulnerable section?

Answer 8

The North-facing sections such as Saltburn.

Question 9

How do erosion rates vary?

Answer 9

0. 8m/year for Shale and Clay

0. 1m/year for Sandstone and Limestone

Question 10

How can averages hide variations?

Answer 10

Faster and less frequent retreats by mass movement can force an overlook of slower rates of erosion.

Question 11

What has monitoring found?

Answer 11

Flaoting buoys in Whitby Bay during 2010-11 revealed wave height often exceeded 4m.

Question 12

What direction does LSD act?

Answer 12

North to South

Question 13

How is LSD interrupted?

Answer 13

Large headlands interrupt the movement of sediment, causing the buildup of beaches in bays, such as Filey Bay.

Question 14

What sediment cell and subcell is the area in?

Answer 14

Within cell 1 and subcell 1d

Question 15

What are the main sediment sources?

Answer 15

Nearshore sediment driven onshire as sea levels rose in the last glacial.
Cliff erosion, sandstone, chalk, boulder clay and gravel.
Fluvial Sediment, River Esk enters at Whitby suppying limited sediment.

Question 16

What did beach surveys find?

Answer 16

There was a net increase in beach sediment of 9245 m^3 between 2008 and 2011 at saltburn.

Question 17

How are sedimentary rocks bedded?

Answer 17

Horizontally

Question 18

What are the Flamborough cliffs like?

Answer 18

Made of chalk.
20-30m high
Overlying till at a 40degree angle.

Question 19

What are the Saltburn cliffs like?

Answer 19

Cliffs are much higher.
Stepped profile due to varied geology.
Steeper areas are Sandstone and limestone.
Gentler areas are Shales and Clays.

Question 20

Why are there Shore Platforms?

Answer 20

High energy waves and active erosion mean cliffs erode leading to the formation of rocky shore platforms.

Question 21

What are the characteristics of the Robin Hoods Bay Platform?

Answer 21

Made of eroded Lower Lias Shales.
Angle of 1 degree, with some steep areas as much as 15.
Max width of 500m.
Formed in the last 6000 years.

Question 22

What type of coastline is it?

Answer 22

Discordant

Question 23

What are examples of bays?

Answer 23

Robin Hood bay, eroded into weak shale, surrounding headlands are sandstone.
Filey Bay, eroded into weak Kinneridge Clay, surrounding headlands are limestone and chalk.

Question 24

How many geos and blowholes are there?

Answer 24

50 aligned to the Northeast

Question 25

Are there beaches?

Answer 25

There a few well developed beaches along the coastline, best examples at scarborough and Filey Bay.

Question 26

Why are there few beaches?

Answer 26

High energy waves remove sediment before it can accumulate.

Question 27

Why does LSD not create normal landforms?

Answer 27

High tiday range arounf 4m stops the creation of spits and other drift aligned features. There is a lack of estuarine environments that would provide sediment sinks.