Erosional landforms

• Coastal landscapes


  • Not a single typical landscape, reflect interaction of range of factors
• Factors that might interact along the coast


  • Type of coastline - concordant or discordant
  • Classifications of coastal types
  • Characteristics of a coastline
• Headlands and Bays


  Formation: Soft rock erodes, hard rock does not, creating uneven headland and bay formation
• Headland formation


  1. High energy waves due to refraction

  2. Leading to more extreme impacts of erosion
• Bay formation


  1. Low energy waves

  2. Sediment accumulates to form beaches
• Coves - Concordant and Discordant coastlines

  Concordant: Rock strata run parallel to coast

  Discordant: Rock strata run perpendicular to coast
• Concordant coastline


  Coastal processes like erosion and weathering change the shape differently
• Concordant and Discordant coastline


  • Purbeck Coast in Dorset
• Sea Arches and Sea Stacks

  • Arches form from erosion of headlands, stacks form when arch roof collapses
• Headlands and Bays


  • Headlands formed in harder rock, bays in softer rock
• Caves


  • Form through erosion exploiting rock weaknesses, hydraulic action key process
• Blowholes


  • Form when sea caves reach top of cliff, waves compress air in shaft