Categorising coastlines - concordant and discordant

• what is morphology


  shape of landscape features
• what is a concordant coastline

  alternating rock and strata are aligned parallel to the coastline
• what landforms are found at concordant coasts


  coves, Dalmatian coastline and Haff coastline
• what is a cove


  A wide, circular bay with a narrow entrance
• how does a cove form

  the less resistant rock behind the more resistant rock erodes more quickly
• example of a concordant coastline with coves


  -Dorset coastline, Lulworth cove

  -more resistant limestone has less resistant clay behind it
• what is a Dalmatian coastline

  -tectonic activity creates anticlines (folds in rock strata that form a ridge) and synclines (folds in rock strata that forms a trough)

  - when sea levels rise, the synclines get flooded and leaves flooded valleys with the anticlines exposed
• example of a Dalmatian coastline

  Dalmatian coast, Croatia
• what is a haff coastline


  where deposition forms unconsolidated geological structures (due to melting glacial sheets) parallel to the coast, forming bars which leaves a lagoon (haff) behind it
• Example of Haff coastline


  Baltic coastline
• what is a discordant coastline


  When rocks and strata run at right angles to the coastline.
• what landforms are found at a discordant coastline


  headlands and bays
• how are headlands and bays formed

  where a band of less resistant rock erodes at a greater pace than the adjacent bands of more resistant rock, leaving them protruding outwards into sea (headlands)
• explain how refraction influences a headland or bay

  wave front refracts when it reaches shallower water. this causes concave waves at headlands which concentrate the energy here, thus high erosional power. the wave energy is dissipated in the bay as there are convex waves here, thus low energy. this minimises the contrast between the headland and bay
• what features can be found at a headland

  cave, arch, stack, stump
• example of a headland or bay

  swanage bay, east coast of Dorset
• how does Dorset coastline have both concordant and discordant features

  east coast is discordant and south coast is concordant