North Yorkshire Coastline (High energy)

• The NYC is a 60-km high energy, rocky coastal landscape dominated by resistant lithology which receives vast amounts of kinetic and gravitational energy inputs from wind-generated waves
• Varied lithology of altering resistance bands of rock creates a discordant coastline
• This coastline receives high energy waves from the long fetch from the Norwegian Sea to the North (3000km fetch)
• 1. Saltburn-by-the-sea is a north-facing sandy beach which is neighboured by Hunt Cliff (East of the beach)
• Hunt Cliff is an 100m high cliff which erodes slowly at 0.1m-0.2m per year due to high resistance to erosion from its strong geological structure from horizontally bedded rocks and tough lithology
• Saltburn beach is north facing so is affected by powerful fetch waves + longshore drift and onshore transport = from 2008 - 2011 there was a net increase of sediment of over 9000 cubic metres (increased volume of 9245 metres squared)
• Hunt cliff also is a rocky headland which increased deposition in Saltburn bay
• Hunt cliff has also receded which has formed a 200m wide shore platform at low tide
• 2. Scarborough head is a resistant lithological headland formed of limestone and sandstone
• Waves refraction around the headland pushes sediment into the North and South bays which grows them as they become low-energy sheltered zones which means deposition rates increase
• Sea level rise during the Flandrian Transgression 8000-2000 years ago causes the cliffs in the two bays to recede which took millennia to occur
• Heavy rainfall ( 140 mm in 2 months ) caused glacial till to lose cohesion leading to a huge rotational slip which moved 1 million tonnes of glacial till in 2 days which caused the 60m high cliff to recede 70m
• 3. Filey Brigg and Filey Bay - Filey Brigg is a 500m long headland formed of resistant limestone rock which creates a low-energy sheltered environment (Filey Bay) which is an 8km-long sandy beach
• Wave refraction had pushed sediment around Filey Brigg into Filey Bay
• Filey Brigg is eroding at less than 0.1mm a year (resistant lithology)
• Zones of accretion (deposition) and erosion were both observed at Filey Bay which reflect the short-term influence of winter storms with erosion at the back of the beach being particularly significant in the winter of 2010 - 2011, causing the beach profile to lower
• 4. Flamborough head is a large chalk headland - wave refraction concentrates wave energy onto Flamborough head and hydraulic action attacks joints in the chalk cliffs = extremely high energy
• Along the north side, deep caves and fault lines have eroded to form blowholes
• The chalk cliffs have been eroded slowly over time to form a wide shore platforms
• Master joints (due to high energy) have been weathered slowly and eroded to form arches such as Selwicks Bay
• Arches have collapsed to form stacks and stumps at South Breil stack
• Stacks have collapsed forming stumps such as King Stump near North Landing
• Caves have collapsed forming geos such as the one at North Landing