Spurn Point Flashcards
What is Spurn point?
A narrow sand spit on the tip of the coast of East Yorkshire, England that reaches into the North sea and forms the north bank of the mouth of the Humber estuary.
How long is it?
It is over 3 miles (4.8)km long.
What area does Spurn Point cover?
The southernmost tip of the estuary is known as Spurn point, it is home to an RNLI lifeboat station and a disused lighthouse. Spurnhead covers 280 acres above high water and 480 acres of foreshore.
(The part of a shore between high- and low-water marks, or between the water and cultivated or developed land.)
Mention the conservation on the Point.
It has been owned since 1960 by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and is a designated national nature reserve, heritage coast and is part of the Humber Flats, Marshes and Coast Special Protection Area.
Why is Spurn Point there?
The spit forms a sweeping curve which continues the line of coast. The sand which forms the spit has been transported along the Holderness Coast (from north to south) by long-shore drift. The energy in the waves transporting the material reduces where the North sea meets the Humber Estuary. As a result the material is deposited.
Areas of salt marsh can form behind a spit, what allows this to happen?
The Spit cannot develop right across the bay as a rivers estuary prevents the build up of sand. Sand spits ofte have a curved or hooked end. This is created when secondary wind and wave direction causes a wave to strike from a different direction. The spit creates an area of calmer water sheltered by the spit. A lagoon, salt marsh and finally dry land can develop in this sheltered area.
Describe long-shore drift on Spurn point.
The movement of long-shore drift is where material and sediment is carried down the coast from the North Yorkshire coastline and further northern sediment cells, left to settle at the mouth of the river Humber to form and build upon the spit. As the spit grows, the distance of long-shore drift increases.
Use a word to describe how Spurn point is created.
Spurn Point is cyclic which means that it goes through 250 years of creation and destruction.
What materials is the spit made up of?
Shingle, Sand and Boulder clay.
What sizes is the material making up Spurn point?
Sizes of sediment vary from 0.001mm clay to around 10mm shingle and small pebbles.
What makes the peninsula move every year, and by how much does Spurn Point move?
Due to the river flow of sediment from further inland, via the River Ouse and the river Trent, the peninsula has a movement of 2m west per year.
What might create features the are habitat for species of bird such as The common Scoter?
All the deposited material, from rivers accumulates in sheltered waters inside the mouth of the Humber Estuary behind the spit. This creates features such as salt mrshes and mudflats which are excellent habitats for diferent species of bird such as The Pink Footed Geese and The common Scoter.
Why is Spurn Point listed as nature reserve?
Due to large levels of birds that inhabit the area, Spurn Point is listed as a nature reserve to help populations of these birds to continue. The plants help maintain features created, for example Marram grass and shingle together in the marshes and spit, stopping sediment being moved further down the coast by longshore drift.
