Subjects

Subjects

More

Search

AI Knowunity

Subjects

/

Geography

/

Physical geography

/

Coastal systems and landscapes

/

Coastal landscape development

How Coastal Landforms Like Headlands, Bays, and Wave-Cut Platforms Are Formed: Diagrams and Examples

View

How Coastal Landforms Like Headlands, Bays, and Wave-Cut Platforms Are Formed: Diagrams and Examples
user profile picture

Charlotte Dench

@charlottedench_fxap

·

3 Followers

Follow

Coastal landforms are shaped by various processes, including wave action, erosion, and deposition. This document covers the formation of bays, headlands, wave-cut platforms, caves, arches, stacks, stumps, and different types of cliffs. It also explains beach formation, including swash and drift-aligned beaches, as well as sand dune development. The information is presented with detailed diagrams and explanations of the processes involved in shaping these coastal features.

17/05/2023

449

sost rocu Bay Hard 590 Was Headland wave cut notch 71 Jost roch Beracu Beave Bay Headland Iwowe cut Platform ангини Bays and Headlands Hald

View

Types of Cliffs and Their Formation

Cliffs are prominent features of coastal landscapes and their shapes are determined by the interplay of marine and sub-aerial processes, as well as the underlying rock type.

Different Types of Cliffs

  1. 90° Profile Cliffs: These have a steep, vertical face due to strong marine erosion at the base.

  2. 40° Profile Cliffs: These have a more gentle slope, often due to a balance between marine and sub-aerial processes.

  3. Bevelled Cliffs: These have a steep lower section and a more gentle upper section, resulting from different erosion rates.

  4. Plunging Cliffs: These descend directly into deep water, with waves hitting them directly.

Definition: Sub-aerial processes refer to weathering and erosion that occur above the water level, such as frost action and rainfall.

Formation of Cliff Types

  • 90° Profile Cliffs: Form in areas with strong marine erosion and resistant rock.
  • 40° Profile Cliffs: Develop when there's a balance between marine erosion and sub-aerial weathering.
  • Bevelled Cliffs: Result from differential erosion rates, with less resistant rock at the top.
  • Plunging Cliffs: Form in areas of exceptionally deep water, where wave energy is not dissipated before reaching the cliff.

Highlight: The type of rock and the balance between marine and sub-aerial processes determine the shape of cliffs.

Slope-Over-Wall Cliffs

These cliffs have a unique formation process:

  1. Initial cliff formation by marine processes during warm periods.
  2. Sea level drop during ice ages leads to sub-aerial processes dominating.
  3. Permafrost causes solifluction, creating a gradient slope at the base.
  4. Freeze-thaw processes at the top create a bevelled profile.
  5. Rising sea levels remove the soliflucted material, revealing the original cliff face.

Vocabulary: Solifluction - The slow downslope movement of water-saturated sediment due to recurrent freezing and thawing of the ground.

sost rocu Bay Hard 590 Was Headland wave cut notch 71 Jost roch Beracu Beave Bay Headland Iwowe cut Platform ангини Bays and Headlands Hald

View

Beach Formation and Profiles

Beaches are dynamic coastal features that change in response to wave action and sediment movement. Understanding beach formation is crucial in coastal landforms PDF studies.

Swash-Aligned Beaches

Swash-aligned beaches form when:

  • Waves approach perpendicular to the shore.
  • There are no prevailing winds, resulting in no longshore drift.
  • The swash and backwash are aligned, limiting longshore sediment movement.
  • They are common on indented coastlines where longshore sediment movement is limited.

Example: Cardigan Bay in Wales is an example of a coastline with swash-aligned beaches.

Drift-Aligned Beaches

Drift-aligned beaches are the stereotypical beach type and form when:

  • Waves approach at an oblique angle to the shore.
  • Sediment is moved via longshore drift.
  • Waves break at different times along the beach due to imperfect refraction.
  • They are associated with the formation of spits.

Vocabulary: Longshore drift - The movement of beach material along the coast by wave action.

Storm Cut and Swell Fill Beach Profiles

Beaches exhibit different profiles depending on wave conditions:

  1. Storm Profile:

    • Created by steep, destructive waves.
    • Sediment is moved offshore.
    • Quick succession of waves reduces swash ability to transport sediment.
    • Results in a gentler overall gradient.

  2. Swell Profile:

    • Created by constructive waves with long intervals between them.
    • Strong swash takes sediment from lower beach and deposits it higher up.
    • Creates a steeper overall gradient.

Highlight: The alternation between storm and swell profiles demonstrates the dynamic nature of beach environments.

Beach Ridge and Berm Formation

  • Beach ridges form as waves are refracted on approach to the seafloor.
  • Berms develop at the upper limit of wave action during normal conditions.

Definition: A berm is a nearly horizontal portion of the beach formed by the deposit of material by wave action.

sost rocu Bay Hard 590 Was Headland wave cut notch 71 Jost roch Beracu Beave Bay Headland Iwowe cut Platform ангини Bays and Headlands Hald

View

Sand Dune Formation and Coastal Depositional Features

Sand dunes are important coastal landforms that develop in areas with abundant sand supply and onshore winds. Their formation is a key topic in types of coastal landforms with pictures.

Sand Dune Formation Process

  1. In macrotidal areas, sand dries out during low tide.
  2. Wind transports dry sand through saltation.
  3. Sand accumulates around obstacles on the beach, such as vegetation or debris.
  4. Embryo dunes form on the strand line, stabilized by pioneer plants like marram grass.
  5. Fore dunes develop behind embryo dunes, featuring yellow dunes with more diverse vegetation.
  6. Grey dunes form further inland, with a more stable environment and diverse plant communities.

Vocabulary: Saltation - The bouncing movement of sand particles caused by wind action.

Coastal Vegetation Succession

The vegetation on sand dunes changes as you move inland:

  1. Blue-green algae and sea couch grass on embryo dunes.
  2. Marram grass on fore dunes.
  3. Sea buckthorn and other shrubs on yellow dunes.
  4. Heath plants dominating grey dunes.

Highlight: The succession of plant communities on sand dunes reflects the changing environmental conditions from the beach to inland areas.

Other Coastal Depositional Features

  • Spits: Form where longshore drift deposits material along a coastline, often at the mouth of estuaries.
  • Salt Marshes: Develop in sheltered areas where fine sediment can accumulate and halophytic plants can grow.
  • Shingle/Pebble Deposits: Form in shallow water in the lee of headlands.

Example: The formation of spits, such as Spurn Head in East Yorkshire, UK, illustrates the power of longshore drift in shaping coastal landscapes.

These coastal depositional features play crucial roles in coastal ecosystems and provide natural defenses against erosion and flooding.

sost rocu Bay Hard 590 Was Headland wave cut notch 71 Jost roch Beracu Beave Bay Headland Iwowe cut Platform ангини Bays and Headlands Hald

View

Bays, Headlands, and Wave-Cut Platforms

Coastal landscapes are shaped by the interaction of waves with different rock types, creating distinctive features such as bays, headlands, and wave-cut platforms.

Bays and Headlands Formation

Bays and headlands form along coastlines with alternating bands of hard and soft rock. The process involves:

  1. Waves eroding the coastline through hydraulic action and attrition.
  2. Soft rock erodes faster, creating bays.
  3. Hard rock resists erosion, forming headlands that stick out to sea.
  4. During calm periods, sheltered bays allow for deposition, forming beaches.

Highlight: The differential erosion of hard and soft rock is key to the formation of bays and headlands.

Wave-Cut Platforms

Wave-cut platforms are flat areas of rock formed at the base of cliffs. Their formation process includes:

  1. Waves form a wave-cut notch at the cliff base through undercutting.
  2. As the notch grows larger, the cliff eventually collapses due to lack of support.
  3. The process of undercutting and collapse repeats, causing the cliff to retreat and increase in height.
  4. A wave-cut platform is exposed at low tide as the cliff continues to retreat.

Vocabulary: Wave-cut notch - An indentation formed at the base of a cliff by wave erosion.

Caves, Arches, Stacks, and Stumps

These features form through the continued erosion of headlands:

  1. Waves enter faults or cracks in the headland, eroding through hydraulic action and abrasion.
  2. A cave forms and widens due to marine erosion and sub-aerial processes.
  3. The cave may erode through the headland, creating an arch.
  4. The arch widens until it collapses, leaving a stack.
  5. Continued erosion at the base of the stack leads to its collapse, forming a stump.

Example: The formation sequence of caves, arches, stacks, and stumps can be observed in many coastal areas, such as the Old Harry Rocks in Dorset, England.

Similar content

Know Coastal Landscape systems thumbnail

18

432

12/13

Coastal Landscape systems

Hope this helps you- there is pretty much everything you need here!

Know Depositional landforms/beaches thumbnail

13

448

12/12

Depositional landforms/beaches

A level Geography Ocr Spec notes

Know a level geography coasts edexcel thumbnail

13

442

12/13

a level geography coasts edexcel

mindmap

Know Saltburn to Flamborough Head case study (coasts) thumbnail

1

107

12/13

Saltburn to Flamborough Head case study (coasts)

OCR textbook notes

Know AQA Coasts Revision Notes part 1 thumbnail

10

360

12/13

AQA Coasts Revision Notes part 1

these are rough notes on the first few sub topics of the coasts topic for a level geography

Know Holderness Coast Revision Notes thumbnail

40

1483

12/13

Holderness Coast Revision Notes

Case Study notes for Holderness Coast - Intentional changes case study for OCR A-Level Geography - Based on Spec point 4.a - Human activity intentionally causes changes within coastal landscapes.

Can't find what you're looking for? Explore other subjects.

Knowunity is the #1 education app in five European countries

Knowunity has been named a featured story on Apple and has regularly topped the app store charts in the education category in Germany, Italy, Poland, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Join Knowunity today and help millions of students around the world.

Ranked #1 Education App

Download in

Google Play

Download in

App Store

Knowunity is the #1 education app in five European countries

4.9+

Average app rating

15 M

Pupils love Knowunity

#1

In education app charts in 12 countries

950 K+

Students have uploaded notes

Still not convinced? See what other students are saying...

iOS User

I love this app so much, I also use it daily. I recommend Knowunity to everyone!!! I went from a D to an A with it :D

Philip, iOS User

The app is very simple and well designed. So far I have always found everything I was looking for :D

Lena, iOS user

I love this app ❤️ I actually use it every time I study.

Sign up to see the content. It's free!

Access to all documents

Improve your grades

Join milions of students

By signing up you accept Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Subjects

/

Geography

/

Physical geography

/

Coastal systems and landscapes

/

Coastal landscape development

How Coastal Landforms Like Headlands, Bays, and Wave-Cut Platforms Are Formed: Diagrams and Examples

user profile picture

Charlotte Dench

@charlottedench_fxap

·

3 Followers

Follow

Coastal landforms are shaped by various processes, including wave action, erosion, and deposition. This document covers the formation of bays, headlands, wave-cut platforms, caves, arches, stacks, stumps, and different types of cliffs. It also explains beach formation, including swash and drift-aligned beaches, as well as sand dune development. The information is presented with detailed diagrams and explanations of the processes involved in shaping these coastal features.

17/05/2023

449

 

11/12

 

Geography

16

sost rocu Bay Hard 590 Was Headland wave cut notch 71 Jost roch Beracu Beave Bay Headland Iwowe cut Platform ангини Bays and Headlands Hald

Types of Cliffs and Their Formation

Cliffs are prominent features of coastal landscapes and their shapes are determined by the interplay of marine and sub-aerial processes, as well as the underlying rock type.

Different Types of Cliffs

  1. 90° Profile Cliffs: These have a steep, vertical face due to strong marine erosion at the base.

  2. 40° Profile Cliffs: These have a more gentle slope, often due to a balance between marine and sub-aerial processes.

  3. Bevelled Cliffs: These have a steep lower section and a more gentle upper section, resulting from different erosion rates.

  4. Plunging Cliffs: These descend directly into deep water, with waves hitting them directly.

Definition: Sub-aerial processes refer to weathering and erosion that occur above the water level, such as frost action and rainfall.

Formation of Cliff Types

  • 90° Profile Cliffs: Form in areas with strong marine erosion and resistant rock.
  • 40° Profile Cliffs: Develop when there's a balance between marine erosion and sub-aerial weathering.
  • Bevelled Cliffs: Result from differential erosion rates, with less resistant rock at the top.
  • Plunging Cliffs: Form in areas of exceptionally deep water, where wave energy is not dissipated before reaching the cliff.

Highlight: The type of rock and the balance between marine and sub-aerial processes determine the shape of cliffs.

Slope-Over-Wall Cliffs

These cliffs have a unique formation process:

  1. Initial cliff formation by marine processes during warm periods.
  2. Sea level drop during ice ages leads to sub-aerial processes dominating.
  3. Permafrost causes solifluction, creating a gradient slope at the base.
  4. Freeze-thaw processes at the top create a bevelled profile.
  5. Rising sea levels remove the soliflucted material, revealing the original cliff face.

Vocabulary: Solifluction - The slow downslope movement of water-saturated sediment due to recurrent freezing and thawing of the ground.

sost rocu Bay Hard 590 Was Headland wave cut notch 71 Jost roch Beracu Beave Bay Headland Iwowe cut Platform ангини Bays and Headlands Hald

Beach Formation and Profiles

Beaches are dynamic coastal features that change in response to wave action and sediment movement. Understanding beach formation is crucial in coastal landforms PDF studies.

Swash-Aligned Beaches

Swash-aligned beaches form when:

  • Waves approach perpendicular to the shore.
  • There are no prevailing winds, resulting in no longshore drift.
  • The swash and backwash are aligned, limiting longshore sediment movement.
  • They are common on indented coastlines where longshore sediment movement is limited.

Example: Cardigan Bay in Wales is an example of a coastline with swash-aligned beaches.

Drift-Aligned Beaches

Drift-aligned beaches are the stereotypical beach type and form when:

  • Waves approach at an oblique angle to the shore.
  • Sediment is moved via longshore drift.
  • Waves break at different times along the beach due to imperfect refraction.
  • They are associated with the formation of spits.

Vocabulary: Longshore drift - The movement of beach material along the coast by wave action.

Storm Cut and Swell Fill Beach Profiles

Beaches exhibit different profiles depending on wave conditions:

  1. Storm Profile:

    • Created by steep, destructive waves.
    • Sediment is moved offshore.
    • Quick succession of waves reduces swash ability to transport sediment.
    • Results in a gentler overall gradient.

  2. Swell Profile:

    • Created by constructive waves with long intervals between them.
    • Strong swash takes sediment from lower beach and deposits it higher up.
    • Creates a steeper overall gradient.

Highlight: The alternation between storm and swell profiles demonstrates the dynamic nature of beach environments.

Beach Ridge and Berm Formation

  • Beach ridges form as waves are refracted on approach to the seafloor.
  • Berms develop at the upper limit of wave action during normal conditions.

Definition: A berm is a nearly horizontal portion of the beach formed by the deposit of material by wave action.

sost rocu Bay Hard 590 Was Headland wave cut notch 71 Jost roch Beracu Beave Bay Headland Iwowe cut Platform ангини Bays and Headlands Hald

Sand Dune Formation and Coastal Depositional Features

Sand dunes are important coastal landforms that develop in areas with abundant sand supply and onshore winds. Their formation is a key topic in types of coastal landforms with pictures.

Sand Dune Formation Process

  1. In macrotidal areas, sand dries out during low tide.
  2. Wind transports dry sand through saltation.
  3. Sand accumulates around obstacles on the beach, such as vegetation or debris.
  4. Embryo dunes form on the strand line, stabilized by pioneer plants like marram grass.
  5. Fore dunes develop behind embryo dunes, featuring yellow dunes with more diverse vegetation.
  6. Grey dunes form further inland, with a more stable environment and diverse plant communities.

Vocabulary: Saltation - The bouncing movement of sand particles caused by wind action.

Coastal Vegetation Succession

The vegetation on sand dunes changes as you move inland:

  1. Blue-green algae and sea couch grass on embryo dunes.
  2. Marram grass on fore dunes.
  3. Sea buckthorn and other shrubs on yellow dunes.
  4. Heath plants dominating grey dunes.

Highlight: The succession of plant communities on sand dunes reflects the changing environmental conditions from the beach to inland areas.

Other Coastal Depositional Features

  • Spits: Form where longshore drift deposits material along a coastline, often at the mouth of estuaries.
  • Salt Marshes: Develop in sheltered areas where fine sediment can accumulate and halophytic plants can grow.
  • Shingle/Pebble Deposits: Form in shallow water in the lee of headlands.

Example: The formation of spits, such as Spurn Head in East Yorkshire, UK, illustrates the power of longshore drift in shaping coastal landscapes.

These coastal depositional features play crucial roles in coastal ecosystems and provide natural defenses against erosion and flooding.

sost rocu Bay Hard 590 Was Headland wave cut notch 71 Jost roch Beracu Beave Bay Headland Iwowe cut Platform ангини Bays and Headlands Hald

Bays, Headlands, and Wave-Cut Platforms

Coastal landscapes are shaped by the interaction of waves with different rock types, creating distinctive features such as bays, headlands, and wave-cut platforms.

Bays and Headlands Formation

Bays and headlands form along coastlines with alternating bands of hard and soft rock. The process involves:

  1. Waves eroding the coastline through hydraulic action and attrition.
  2. Soft rock erodes faster, creating bays.
  3. Hard rock resists erosion, forming headlands that stick out to sea.
  4. During calm periods, sheltered bays allow for deposition, forming beaches.

Highlight: The differential erosion of hard and soft rock is key to the formation of bays and headlands.

Wave-Cut Platforms

Wave-cut platforms are flat areas of rock formed at the base of cliffs. Their formation process includes:

  1. Waves form a wave-cut notch at the cliff base through undercutting.
  2. As the notch grows larger, the cliff eventually collapses due to lack of support.
  3. The process of undercutting and collapse repeats, causing the cliff to retreat and increase in height.
  4. A wave-cut platform is exposed at low tide as the cliff continues to retreat.

Vocabulary: Wave-cut notch - An indentation formed at the base of a cliff by wave erosion.

Caves, Arches, Stacks, and Stumps

These features form through the continued erosion of headlands:

  1. Waves enter faults or cracks in the headland, eroding through hydraulic action and abrasion.
  2. A cave forms and widens due to marine erosion and sub-aerial processes.
  3. The cave may erode through the headland, creating an arch.
  4. The arch widens until it collapses, leaving a stack.
  5. Continued erosion at the base of the stack leads to its collapse, forming a stump.

Example: The formation sequence of caves, arches, stacks, and stumps can be observed in many coastal areas, such as the Old Harry Rocks in Dorset, England.

Similar content

Geography - Coastal Landscape systems

Hope this helps you- there is pretty much everything you need here!

18

432

0

Know Coastal Landscape systems thumbnail

Geography - Depositional landforms/beaches

A level Geography Ocr Spec notes

13

448

0

Know Depositional landforms/beaches thumbnail

Geography - a level geography coasts edexcel

mindmap

13

442

0

Know a level geography coasts edexcel thumbnail

Geography - Saltburn to Flamborough Head case study (coasts)

OCR textbook notes

1

107

0

Know Saltburn to Flamborough Head case study (coasts) thumbnail

Geography - AQA Coasts Revision Notes part 1

these are rough notes on the first few sub topics of the coasts topic for a level geography

10

360

0

Know AQA Coasts Revision Notes part 1 thumbnail

Geography - Holderness Coast Revision Notes

Case Study notes for Holderness Coast - Intentional changes case study for OCR A-Level Geography - Based on Spec point 4.a - Human activity intentionally causes changes within coastal landscapes.

40

1483

0

Know Holderness Coast Revision Notes thumbnail

Can't find what you're looking for? Explore other subjects.

Knowunity is the #1 education app in five European countries

Knowunity has been named a featured story on Apple and has regularly topped the app store charts in the education category in Germany, Italy, Poland, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Join Knowunity today and help millions of students around the world.

Ranked #1 Education App

Download in

Google Play

Download in

App Store

Knowunity is the #1 education app in five European countries

4.9+

Average app rating

15 M

Pupils love Knowunity

#1

In education app charts in 12 countries

950 K+

Students have uploaded notes

Still not convinced? See what other students are saying...

iOS User

I love this app so much, I also use it daily. I recommend Knowunity to everyone!!! I went from a D to an A with it :D

Philip, iOS User

The app is very simple and well designed. So far I have always found everything I was looking for :D

Lena, iOS user

I love this app ❤️ I actually use it every time I study.