The Dorset Coast Flashcards
Rock at Lyme Regis
Soft (clay and shale)
Other parts
Hard (limestone and sandstone)
Studland Bay and Swanage Bay
Two areas of soft rock that have beaches very close to each other
Between Studland Bay and Swanage Bay
A headland (the Foreland) with a stack at the end of it called Old Harry
Durdle Door
Arch in headland (made of limestone and sandstone)
Lulworth Cove
Bay next to West Lulworth, where the sea eroded the clay surrounded by the limestone that makes up the headland
Chesil Beach
Bar joining an island and the mainland forming a lagoon behind it
Dorset average annual rainfall (vs UK average)
1050mm (vs 850mm)
Rainfall
Increases risk of mass movement as the soil can become saturated
Storm Frank (2016) caused
The coastline between West Bay and Burton Bradstock to collapse
Temperature
Warm in the summer (>20 degrees C)
Rarely below freezing (rarely freeze thaw weathering)
Main cause of weathering
Salt weathering
South-westerly winds
Bring stormy conditions from the Atlantic Ocean
Strong winds
Big destructive waves, which cause more mass movement
Height of sand blown into towns, promenades and gardens by Storm Dennis (2020)
30cm
Acid rain
Erodes limestone through erosion by solution
Groynes effect on shape of the beach
Wide beaches, which better protect the coastline form erosion and floods
Groynes in Dorset
Found in Swanage, made of timber
Beach replenishment in Dorset
In 2014, Bridport & Lyme Regis
Sea walls pro and con
Pro: Protect promenade from flooding and reduce coastal erosion
Con: Expensive
Sea wall in Dorset
Swanage
Protecting towns can cause
The impact of erosion to just shift slightly further along the coast
Tourism
Can damage the landscape and interfere with geomorphic processes
