CO A S TA L L AN D SC AP E S
SECTION FIVE
Information Book
(a)
Introduction
The coastline of the British Isles provides spectacular and varied scenery, ranging
from long, sandy beaches to rugged, windswept cliffs. For many years beaches have
attracted tourists in large numbers for swimming and sunbathing and have provided
the sites for major seaside resorts such as Blackpool, Brighton and Margate. The
wilder, craggier coasts also attract visitors for their natural beauty, wildlife, walking
and climbing. The Pembroke coast in SW Wales is a National Park.
Section One(f) showed that our coastline is shaped by the action of waves. The
landscape features created by wave action are now examined.
(b)
Headlands and Bays
The hardness of rocks varies, so that certain rocks are more e asily eroded than
others. Thus, a soft rock like mudstone will be quickly eroded to form a bay,
whereas a hard rock like granite will be eroded much more slowly and be left
protruding into the sea as a headland. The sand and pebbles eroded from the
headlands are washed by the waves into bays and are deposited as beaches (Fig 5.1).
Fig 5.1
he a d la n d
har d roc k
wa v es
be ac h
wa v es
s of t r oc k
har d roc k
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(c) Cliffs
These form where the land slopes towards the sea (Fig 5.2).
Fig 5.2
wa v es er o de t h e l an d be t we en
h ig h s t id e a n d l o w t i de l e v e ls
St a ge 1
l e ve l of h ig h t i de
l e ve l of l o w t i de
St a ge 2
o ver h a ng
h ig h t id e
l o w t i de
a n otc h is
c r ea t ed
St a ge 3
o ver h a ng c o l l ap es
h ig h t id e
l o w t i de
St a ge 4
f ur th er ac t io n pr o duc e s
an o th er n otc h
h ig h t id e
l o w t i de
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St a ge 5
c l if f m oves b ac k
wa v e- c ut p l atf orm
h ig h t id e
l o w t i de
c l if f c o nt i nu es t o c o ll a ps e an d m o v e bac k as wa ves ero d e i ts bas e
If the rocks are hard or sloping inwards the cliff will tend to be steep (Fig 5.3).
However, if they are soft or outward sloping, the cliff will be less steep (Fig 5.4).
Fig 5.3
Fig 5.4
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(d)
Caves, Arches and Stacks
The weakest part of a sea cliff will be eroded most deeply. Therefore, at these w eak
points caves will form (for example, Fingal’s Cave, Island of Staffa). If the
weakness runs right through a headland then caves will form on opposite sides.
Eventually, as the back of each cave continues to be eroded, the waves will break
right through the headland to form an arch (for example, Durdle Door, Dorset). In
time the roof of the arch will collapse to leave an upstanding block of rock called a
stack (for example, the Old Man of Hoy, Orkney).
Fig 5.5: Stages in the formation of cave, arch and stack
c a ve
we ak nes s
St a ge 1
wa v es er o de we ak r oc k in h e ad l an d t o f o rm a c a v e
St a ge 2
arc h
c a ve is er od e d s o d ee p l y th at it m eets a n ot h er c a v e, f orm in g arc h
s tac k
St a ge 3
r oof of arc h c o ll a ps es
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(e)
Spit, Bar and Tombolo
A spit is a strip of sand or shingle sticking out from the shore.
A bar is a ridge of sand, mud or shingle separating the sea from a lagoon.
A tombolo is a narrow ridge of sand or shingle linking two isla nds or an island to
the mainland.
All three of these features result from the following process (Fig 5.6).
Fig 5.6 shows what happens when waves break at an angle to the coast.
Fig 5.6
Every time a wave breaks it washes sand up the beach at an angle. (Fig 5.6 shows
the movement of one sand grain.) However, the water washes straight back down
the slope of the beach taking sand with it. Therefore, as the diagram shows, sand is
moved along the beach. This process is called longshore drift.
If sand is drifted in this way across a bay, a spit of sand is formed. If a spit forms
across a river mouth then the position of the mouth is forced to change.
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Fig 5.7: Spit
A good example is Spurn Head at the mouth of the River Humber.
If the sand drifts right across a bay it forms a bar with a lagoon behind (Fig 5.8), for
example Slapton Sands, Devon.
Fig 5.8: Bar and lagoon
bar
l ag o on
wa v es
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If the drifted sand connects an island to the mainland, this is called a tombolo (fig.
5.9), for example Chesil Beach which connects the Island of Portland to the Dorset
Coast.
Fig 5.9: Tombolo
tom bo l o
is la n d
wa v es
To prevent longshore drift, barriers called groynes are built at right angles to the
coast. On an OS map it may be possible to work out the direction of longshore drift
by looking at the shapes the sand makes between the groynes (Fig 5.10).
Fig 5.10
c oas t
gro yn e
wa v es
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Activity Sheets
Outcomes
Intermediate 1 and Intermediate 2
Knowledge and Understanding
Identification of main scenic areas associated with coastal landscapes.
Characteristics, formation and named examples of landscape features:
cliffs; caves; stacks; headlands; bays.
GMTs
Identify examples of the above features on photographs, sketches and OS maps.
Draw annotated sketches from photographs.
Intermediate 2
As above plus landscapes features:
arches; spits; bars; tombolos.
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Information Book Section 5 (a): Introduction
1.
Describe the attraction of coastlines for holiday-makers.
2.
Look at Fig Q2 showing popular beach resorts in the British Isles. With the
help of an atlas match the numbers to the resorts listed below:
Brighton
Blackpool
Largs
Colwyn Bay
Clacton
Bognor Regis
Newquay
Aberystwyth
Skegness
Weston-super-Mare
Margate
Torquay
Great Yarmouth
Southport
Scarborough
Bournemouth
Morecambe
Eastbourne
Southend
Fig Q2: Popular beach holiday resorts in the British Isles
19
9
10
11
12
20
1
17
2
8
15
13
16
3
4
7
6
5
18
14
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3.
Explain why most large seaside resorts are in the south of the British Isles.
Checkpoint 1
Answers
1-3
Workcard
Do the experiment or VIDEO.
4.
Do the waves erode both kinds of ‘rock’ at the same speed?
5.
Where exactly on the cliff do the waves cut into the rock?
6.
Which kind of ‘rock’ forms a headland? Explain your answer.
Section 5 (b): Headlands and Bays
7.
Name a type of rock which would be likely to form a headland.
8.
Copy Fig Q8 and, in the correct places, add the labels below:
bay; beach; headland.
Write the letter E where erosion is taking place and D where deposition is
occurring.
Fig Q8
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9.
Study Fig Q9A and Fig Q9B and answer the questions.
Fig Q9A: Rock types around Swanage
Fig Q9A: Sketch of Ballard Down looking west
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
Which rock forms the highest ground in the sketch?
Which rock forms the low ground to the left?
Which rocks form the low ground on the far right?
Explain the variations in height that you have observed.
Which two rocks form headlands? Explain your answer.
Which rocks are eroded to form bays? Explain your answer.
Checkpoint 2
Answers
4–9
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Section 5 (c): Cliffs
10.
Draw labelled diagrams to explain the formation of a sea cliff.
11.
Look at Fig Q11.
Draw a simple sketch and label it to show:
cliff; wave-cut platform; high tide level; low tide level and where wave
erosion is occurring.
Fig Q11: Cuckmere Haven, Sussex
Photo: British Geological Survey, © NERC. All rights reserved.
12.
What two factors could explain why a cliff is particularly steep?
13.
What happens to the position of a cliff as it continues to be eroded by waves?
14.
Look at Fig Q14.
Why should the diver have known that the water would be shallow?
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Fig Q14
O.S. Map Extract No 830/0148-9 1:25,000 Banff/MacDuff
15.
Match the landscape descriptions on the left to the correct grid references on
the right and for each state whether erosion or deposition is occur ring.
Sandy beach in a bay
Headland and wave-cut platform
Shingle beach
658659
665649
695642
OS Map Extract No 645/66 1:50,000 Haddington
16.
Match the landscape descriptions on the left to the correct grid reference on
the right and for each state whether erosion or deposition is occurring.
Headland
Bay with sandy beach
Bay with shingle beach
Wave-cut platform
447785
438775
461830
475833
Checkpoint 3
Answers
12–16
Answers
10, 11
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Section 5 (d): Caves, Arches and Stacks
17.
Using annotated diagrams explain how each of these features is formed:
cave; arch; stack.
18.
Name a British example of
(a)
(b)
(c)
19.
cave
arch
stack.
Look at Fig Q19.
Match the numbers 1 to 8 to the following features:
beach
headland
cave
stack
arch
cliff
wave-cut platform
bay
Fig Q19
6
7
4
1
5
2
3
Section 5(e): Spit, Bar and Tombolo
20.
What is a spit?
21.
Name an example of a spit in the British Isles.
22.
What is a bar?
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23.
Name an example of a bar in the British Isles.
24.
What is a tombolo?
25.
Name an example of a tombolo in the British Isles.
26.
With the aid of a diagram explain the process of longshore drift.
27.
Draw labelled diagrams to show how longshore drift can create:
(a)
(b)
(c)
28.
a spit
a bar
a tombolo
How can longshore drift be prevented?
OS Map Extract No 866/134 1:50,000 Great Yarmouth
29.
Look at the course of the River Bure.
(a)
What happens to the direction of the river’s course as it nears its mouth?
(b)
Longshore drift has caused the mouth t o move. In which direction are
waves moving sand along the coast?
30.
On what landscape feature has the north-east half of Great Yarmouth been
built?
31.
At Gorleston Cliffs (5302), what has been built to prevent longshore drift
removing sand from the beach?
32.
At 529114, what has been built to protect the coast from erosion?
Checkpoint 4
Answers
18–25
28–32
Answers
17, 26
27
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OS Map Extract No 972/195 1:50,000 Bournemouth
33.
Match the landscape features on the left to the correct grid r eferences on the
right.
Tombolo
Bar
Lagoon
Spit
Mud beach
Headland with cliffs
182912
178904
045876
046889
032881
029880
34.
In which two ways is the coast being protected in grid square 1590?
35.
In which direction is longshore drift occurring at
(a)
(b)
048880
185915?
Give reasons for your answers.
Checkpoint 5
Answers
33–35
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36.
Look at Fig Q36.
With the help of an atlas match the numbers on the map to the scenic coastal
features listed below:
Great Ormes Head
Durdle Door (near Swanage) – arch
White Cliffs of Dover
Land’s End – headland
Old Man of Hoy – stack
Fingal’s Cave (Staffa)
Chesil Beach – tombolo
Spurn Head – spit
Giant’s Causeway – wave-cut platform
Pembrokeshire National Park – caves, arches, stacks
Seven Sisters (East Sussex) – chalk cliffs
Bow Fiddle (near Buckie) – arch
Old Man of Stoer (near Lochinver) – stack
Flamborough Head
Slapton Sands (near Dartmouth) – bar
Sands of Forvie (near Ellon) – dunes
The Needles (Isle of Wight) – stacks
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Fig Q36: Scenic coastal features of the British Isles
Checkpoint 6
Answer
36
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Extension exercises
OS Map Extract No 645/66 1:50,000 Haddington
E1.
Describe the coastline between Ferny Ness (440776) and Black Rocks
(483846). Mention beach deposits, wave cut platforms, headlands, bays,
river mouth, etc. Quote appropriate grid references.
E2.
Using resources supplied by your teacher, explain how the following
features are formed:
blow-hole
off-shore bar
ria
fiord
raised beach.
Answers
E1, E2
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Workcard
You will need:
Sand tray
Sand
Clay and a wavemaker (made of strong cardboard or hardboard 16cm x 8cm)
1.
Set up the sand tray with a damp sand cliff and a band of clay. Carefully pour
water into the bottom to represent the sea. Make sure the ‘coast’ is straight.
2.
Use the wavemaker to gently make waves. Watch carefully what happens at
the coastline.
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