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A Level Geography - Coasts - Summary revision notes
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Summary revision notes for Geography - Coasts - Pearson Edexcel specification - All case studies included
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Littoral zone = The boundary between land and sea.- Offshore - May experience fishing
- Nearshore - May experience dredging
- Foreshore - Area between high tide and low tide mark
- Backshore - Area above high tide mark - affected by wave action only during storms.
This may experience hard and soft engineering, and intense human activity like
tourism. Also, may experience erosion or deposition depending on waves.
Low energy coast: Sandy coasts
- Constructive waves = Swash > Backwash. So rate of deposition is greater than the
rate of erosion.
- Landforms = Beaches, spits, salt marshes.
- Often calmer conditions. Eg: Mediterranean.
High energy coast: Rocky coasts
- Destructive waves = Swash < Backwash. SO rate of erosion is greater than rate of
deposition.
- Landforms = Wave cut platform, caves.
- Often stormier conditions. Eg: Cornwall
Concordant coasts: Only 1 type of rock strata meet the coast. Eg: Lulworth cove.
Bands of more resistant hard rocks meet the coast, but a fault or crack can cause a gap
between the hard rocks. This can slowly erode the soft rock band which lies behind the
strata of hard rock, forming a cove. Eg: Limestone erodes easily.
Dalmatian coasts
Another type of concordant coastline. This is where a rise in sea level leads to
valleys to flood. The top of the ridge remained above the surface of the sea as
a series of offshore islands that run parallel to the coast. Eg: Croatia.
,Haff coasts
Consist of concordant features- long spits of sand and lagoons- aligned parallel to
the coast. E.g. Baltic Sea.
Discordant coasts: Different rock strata meet the coast. This means that more resistant rocks
would erode slowly and form headlands whilst less resistant rocks would erode rapidly and
form bays.
Eg: Jurassic coast has alternating rock types
meeting the coast
Headlands can experience erosional
landforms like wave cut platforms, caves and
arches.
Bays can experience depositional landforms
like beaches.
Coastal morphology: shape of beach
Geological structure and cliff profiles:
Dip = Angle of rock strata.
- Less affected by weathering and mass
movement - more stable.
Tilted by tectonic activity - bedding planes exposed and
are at a high risk of weathering and mass movement.
- Unstable
, Faults
Faults are major fractures in the rock created by tectonic forces. These fractures are
exploited by marine erosion.
Joints
Vertical cracks in the rocks created without rock displacement. These are exploited
by marine erosional processes like hydraulic action.
LITHOLOGY:
Sedimentary rocks = Layers of sediments compacted. Eg: Chalk or clay
- Mostly unconsolidated and not compact, so less resistant and vulnerable to
erosion, weathering and rainwater. Also, they are permeable.
Igneous rocks = Molten Magma. Eg: Granite
- Impermeable and resistant to erosion and weathering.
- Interlocking crystals makes it resistant.
-
Metamorphic = Formed by heat and pressure. Eg: Marble.
- Resistant due to crystalline structure.
- Impermeable.
- Some types of rocks contain soluble minerals that are vulnerable to chemical
weathering.
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