Coastal Features

• Coastlines are the meeting points of land and seas or oceans.
• Coastlines include beaches, cliffs, capes, caves, bays, and estuaries.
• These features are generally located close to each other.

Coastal Features

• Natural arch: An arch hollowed out of a headland by the sea.
• Rocky islet: A small island made of rock.
• Skerry: A rock tip just above the surface of the water.
• Spit: An elongated ridge of sand or pebbles extending into the water.
• Cliff: A steep rock face shaped by the sea.
• Sand island: An exposed summit of a sand deposit formed near or far from a shoreline.
• Headland: A tapering strip of land jutting into the sea.
• Tombolo: A ridge of sand joining an island to the shoreline.
• Beach: An accumulation of sand or pebbles along a coast.
• Dune: An accumulation of sand shaped by the wind.
• River estuary: The mouth of a river influenced by tides, forming a coastline indentation.
• Cave: A natural underground cavity resulting from the erosion of rock by water.
• Lagoon: A shallow expanse of seawater separated from the sea by a ridge of sand or a barrier island.
• Stack: A needle-shaped column resulting from a collapsed arch.

Changing Coastlines

• Waves, tides, and currents create coastlines.
• Waves erode the land and leave behind sediment.
• Coastal changes occur over long periods.
• Coastal formation depends on the material of the land and water.
• Harder materials like granite remain stable for centuries.
• Tides affect sediment deposition.
• Large tidal ranges deposit material farther inland.
• Waves carry energy and sediment depending on their size.
• Larger waves carry more energy and sediment.
• Coastlines with big beaches are able to spread out wave energy and deposits more.
• Coastlines with small beaches have focused energy.
• Sandy beaches are often washed away.
• Rocky coastlines are cracked by waves.
• Coasts help an understanding of weather and sea level changes.
• Coasts are the first places to be flooded during storms.
• Coastal plains are pieces of flat, low-lying land.
• Pollution, oil spills, and garbage affects coasts.
• Pollution negatively impacts marine life.

Weathering

• Freeze thaw weathering can cause the cliffs to breakdown
• Solution (Chemical weathering) will break down calcium carbonate (limestone) cliffs
• Plants on cliffs can cause them to breakdown