What are landforms of coastal deposition ?

Question 1

What is a beach ?

Answer 1

A depositional landform, extending from highest to the lowest tide. It is a store which is constantly changing according to the type of waves.

Question 2

What happens at a shingle beach ?

Answer 2

• Large material > gaps between them
• Allows water to percolate through.
• Therefore backwash is weak and has little energy to move material back down the beach.
• HIgher levels of friction slows down backwash.
• Material deposited up the beach resulting in a steeper profile.

Question 3

What happens in a sand beach ?

Answer 3

• Small particles packed tightly together leaving few gaps.
• Water cannot percolate between the particles.
• Compacted, wet surface has little friction.
• Much of the swash returns as backwash transporting sand.
• Strong backwash means sand is deposited across the whole width of the beach resulting in a flatter profile.

Question 4

What causes the beach profile ?

Answer 4

• Attrition
• Cliff fall
• Storm waves
• Angular
• Larger range to smaller range

Question 5

What is a berm ?

Answer 5

Series of long ridges running parallel to the sea, marking the various high tide marks.

Question 6

What is a cusp ?

Answer 6

An embankment with horns

Question 7

What are ridges and runnels ?

Answer 7

The separating out of the waves’ energy across a wade beach tends to produce ridge depressions called runnels. They are particularly common on shallow, sandy beaches.

Question 8

What is a spit ?

Answer 8

A depositional landform that is a long, narrow beach of sand or shingle attached to the mainland at one end, and stretching across an estuary.

Question 9

Give examples of a :
- Bar
- Tombolo
- Spit

Answer 9

• Slapton ley
• Weymouth
• Spurn Head