depositional landforms

• what are the different depositional landforms

  • beaches
  • spits
  • mudflats
  • sand dunes
  • bars
  • cupsate foreland
• what is a cuspate foreland and why does it form

  • A triangular - shaped accumulation of land extending seawards
  • from prevailing wind in opposite directions
• what is a spit

  an elongated ridge of sand that projects out into the sea
• what two things are needed for a spit form

  longshore drift

  change in direction of coastline
• how does a spit form

  longshore drift moves sand up the beach, but when the directional the coastline changes the sediment is deposited out into sea
• what is it called when spit joins the mainland to a island

  a tombolo
• what is a tombolo


  when a spit joins the mainland to a island
• what is a bar


  the joining of two headlands by a spit, cutting off a bay and forming a lagoon behind
• how does a bar form


  When a spit joins two headlands together
• what forms behind a bar

  lagoon
• what are the stages of sand dune succession

  embryo, fore, yellow, grey, mature, climax vegetation
• what type of succession is sand dune succession

  psammosere
• explain the process of sand dune formation

  • an object such as litter or driftwood traps sand being blown up the beach to form an embryo dune
  • pioneer plants such as sea twitch which can survive in thin soil with few nutrients stabilise dune to form a fore dune
  • marram grass further stabilises dune to form a yellow dune (roots 2m deep)

  (up until this point a blowout can occur)

  • dead organic matter changes the colour the dune to form a grey dune
  • as soil forms dunes eventually woodlands grow forming a mature dune and this is climax vegetation
• what is a blowout


  if vegetation from the dune is removed then depressions form which means sand can be removed by the wind which stops succession
• up until what point can a blowout occur

  yellow dune
• what is a mudflat


  a stretch of muddy land left uncovered at low tide.
• what is a salt marsh


  an area of coastal grassland that is regularly flooded by seawater.
• what type of succession is mudflat succession

  halosere
• what are the three stages of mudflat succession

  mudflat, saltmarsh, woodland
• process of mudflat succession

  • flocculation allows sediment to be deposited which reduces depth of water until a point halophytic plants such as eelgrass can grow - can survive inundation of 11-12 hours of the tidal cycle
  • their dense roots and stems, as well as channels growing across the mudflat slow down tidal flow = more deposition occurs
  • as the height of the marsh built up, only the highest spring tides cover the vegetation, increasingly turning mudflats into salt marshes
  • land can be claimed by farmers = succession stops
• what is a plant that can survive in saltwater called

  halophytic
• What is a halophytic plant?


  a plant that can survive in saltwater
• example a halophytic plant

  eelgrass
• what's flocculation


  where small particles suspended in water clump together to become heavier, which allows them to sink and be deposited e.g. clay