Coastal Landforms Quiz: Test Your Knowledge of Erosional Features

Study Notes

Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition

The Earth's landscape is shaped by three naturally occurring processes: weathering, erosion, and deposition.
Weathering is the breakdown of larger rock fragments into smaller particles.
It occurs through physical and chemical processes, depending on the environment.

Types of Weathering

Freeze and thaw method: water in cracks freezes and expands, increasing the volume of cracks, and eventually leading to the breakdown of rocks.
Exfoliation: rock expands during the day and contracts at night due to temperature changes, resulting in peeling off of rocks in layers.
Abrasion: water, wind, and ice continuously strike rocks, breaking them down into smaller particles.
Hydrolysis: mineral bonds break down when reacting with water.
Oxidation: oxygen reacts with metal elements in rocks, weakening their structure.
Acid rain weathering: acid in rainwater reacts with minerals in rocks, dissolving them.
Biological weathering: plants and animals contribute to rock breakdown through activities like burrowing and trail-making.

Erosion

Erosion is the process of carrying weathered rock particles away from their original location.
Transporting agents like wind, water, and glaciers carry sediments to new locations.
Landforms created by erosion include river valleys, oxbow lakes, waterfalls, sinkholes, and caves.

Landforms Created by Erosion

Inselbergs: isolated hills or mountains formed by wind erosion in deserts and plains.
Mushroom rock: tall, isolated hills with a mushroom-like shape, formed by wind erosion.
Pediplain: a plain area formed by wind erosion in desert regions.
Valleys: narrow structures formed by water flowing through mountains.
Canyons: deep valleys formed by the cutting down of rocks by flowing rivers.
Waterfalls: formed when stream water flows from softer rocks to complex and compact rocks.
Ox-bow lakes: created by water erosion, forming an abandoned meander loop.
Ripple marks: wavy structures formed by water flowing over soft rocks.
Sea cliff: a cliff formed by continuous hitting of sea waves near coastal areas.
Sea arch: an arch-like structure formed by powerful waves near coastal areas.
Sea stacks: pillar-like structures formed by the breakdown of headlands.

Deposition

Deposition is the process of settling and accumulating broken rock fragments or soil particles in a new environment.
The same transporting agents that create erosional features also create depositional landforms.

Landforms Created by Deposition

Sand dunes: formed by wind deposition in desert regions.
Loess: formed by the deposition of silt, sand, and clay-sized particles by wind and water.
Alluvial fan: a fan-shaped area formed by the deposition of unconsolidated materials by a flowing stream or river.
Floodplains: areas adjacent to a down-flowing river, formed by overflow and deposition of materials.
Deltas: large, extensive wetland areas formed by the deposition of sediments at the mouth of a river.
Beaches: formed by the deposition of sands and gravel-like particles along shorelines.### Deltas
Large and extensive wetland areas formed where a flowing river or stream deposits sediments before flowing into the seas and oceans
Also known as the mouth of a river

Beaches

Landforms formed parallel to the seas and oceans
Waves deposit sands, gravel-like particles along the shoreline, giving rise to a beach's landform

Glacial Depositional Landforms

Moraines

Unconsolidated, loose accumulated materials formed when a thick mass of glacier moves over a region
Comprised of rocks and soils
Types of moraines include:
- Lateral moraine
- Terminal moraine
- Medial moraine

Eskers

Ridge-like structures comprised of sand and gravel size particles
Formed when moving glaciers carry particles to a low-lying area, melting and leaving accumulated materials

Kames

Structures formed when moving glaciers recede, resulting in a mass of accumulated sediments as they flow down

Description

Test your knowledge on the erosional landforms created by wind and water in a shallow marine environment, primarily found in sandstone sedimentary rock. Identify and understand the formation of sea cliffs and sea arches along the coastal areas.