coastal landscapes in the uk and the UK physical landscape

• Upland areas


  Areas formed of hard, resistant rocks (e.g. granite, metamorphic rocks) that are resistant to erosion
• Lowland areas


  Areas formed of softer, sedimentary rocks (e.g. chalk, clays) that erode more easily
• Most cities are in lowland areas often on the main rivers
• Cities on main rivers

  • London (on the Thames)
  • Liverpool (on the Mersey)
  • Cardiff (on the Severn Estuary)
• River Clyde


  • Wide lower valley and flood plain
  • City of Glasgow situated on the flat ground of the Clyde's flood plain
• Grampian Mountains


  • Part of the Highlands
  • Home to Ben Nevis (the highest mountain in the UK)
  • Steep, rocky and sparsely populated
• Lake District


  • National park popular with tourists
  • Upland area with lots of glacial features
• Pennines


  • Upland area
• Mourne Mountains


  • Upland area
• Snowdonia


  • Glaciated upland area formed from rock from an extinct volcano
  • Contains steep mountains and glaciated valleys
• Holderness Coast


  • Made mainly of soft boulder clay
  • Cliffs eroding quickly, allowing landforms such as the Spurn Head spit to form
• Dorset Coast


  • Bands of hard and soft rock leading to landforms such as stacks, arches and spits
• The Fens


  • Marshy, flat, low-lying area
  • Used to be larger but a lot of land has been drained for farming
• Weathering


  The breakdown of rocks in situ where they are
• Erosion


  When rocks are broken down and carried away
• Mechanical weathering


  1. Breakdown of rock without changing its chemical composition

  2. Freeze-thaw weathering - water freezing and thawing widens cracks and causes rock to break up
• Chemical weathering


  1. Breakdown of rock by changing its chemical composition

  2. Carbonation weathering - rainwater with dissolved carbon dioxide reacts with calcium carbonate in rock, dissolving it
• Mass movement


  • The shifting of rocks and loose material down a slope, e.g. a cliff
  • Happens when the force of gravity acting on a slope is greater than the force supporting it
  • More likely to happen when material is full of water, acting as a lubricant and making it heavier
• Destructive waves


  High, steep waves with a more powerful backwash than swash, removing material from the coast
• Constructive waves


  Low, long waves with a more powerful swash than backwash, depositing material on the coast
• Hydraulic power


  Waves compress air in rock cracks, putting pressure on the rock and widening the cracks
• Abrasion


  Eroded particles in the water scrape and rub against rock, removing small pieces
• Attrition


  Eroded particles in the water collide, break into smaller pieces and become more rounded
• Longshore drift


  Waves following the direction of the prevailing wind hit the coast at an oblique angle, carrying material up the beach in the wave direction and then down the beach at right angles in the backwash, zigzagging the material along the coast
• Traction


  Large particles like boulders are pushed along the sea bed by the force of the water
• Saltation


  Pebble-sized particles are bounced along the sea bed by the force of the water
• Suspension


  Small particles like silt and clay are carried along in the water
• Solution


  Soluble materials like limestone dissolve in the water and are carried along
• Deposition


  • The dropping of material when water carrying sediment loses energy and slows down
  • Coasts build up when the amount of deposition is greater than the amount of erosion
• The amount of material deposited on a coast increases when there is lots of erosion elsewhere providing more material, lots of material is transported into the area, and constructive waves deposit more material than they remove
• Concordant coastline


  Alternating bands of hard and soft rock are parallel to the coast
• Discordant coastline


  Alternating bands of hard and soft rock are at right angles to the coast
• Rock type and geological structure

  • Influence the erosional landforms that develop on a coastline
  • Hard rocks like granite take a long time to erode, while softer rocks like sandstone erode more quickly
  • Rocks with lots of joints and faults (cracks and weaknesses in the rock) erode faster
• Discordant coastlines are made up of alternating bands of hard and soft rock at right angles to the coast
• On a concordant coastline the alternating bands of hard and soft rock are parallel to the coast
• Headlands and bays form along discordant coastlines


  1. The less resistant rock is eroded faster, forming a bay with a gentle slope

  2. The resistant rock erodes more slowly, jutting out to form a headland with steep sides
• Erosion of headlands to form caves, arches and stacks

  1. The resistant rock that makes up headlands often has weaknesses like cracks

  2. Waves crash into the headlands and enlarge the cracks (mainly by hydraulic power and abrasion)

  3. Repeated erosion and enlargement of the cracks causes a cave to form

  4. Continued erosion deepens the cave until it breaks through the headland to form an arch

  5. Erosion continues to wear away the rock supporting the arch, until it eventually collapses, forming a stack
• Examples of coastal landforms

  • Durdle Door, Dorset
  • Old Harry, Dorset
  • Southerndown, South Wales
• Coastal Landforms
• Beaches are formed by Deposition