CASE STUDY OF A HIGH ENERGY COASTLINE - SALTBURN -

• High energy coastline
Saltburn to Flamborough Head
• Coastline


  • 60km stretch
  • Differences in rock resistance responsible for varied scenery
  • From high cliffs to headland and bay sequences
  • Erosion rates vary due to differences in wave energy and rock resistance
• Varied scenery


  • Robin Hood's Bay eroded into weak shale
  • Headlands of Ravenscar and Ness Point formed from resistant sandstone
  • Filey Bay formed in weak Kimmeridge clay with resistant limestone and chalk headlands flanking it
• Erosion varies from 0.8m/yr on more resistant rocks
• Slopes


  • Steeper where there are more resistant sand/limestones
  • Gentler where there are weaker clays and shales
• Wave refraction
Concentrates wave energy on resistant headlands
• Weak points exploited


  • Selwick Bay at Flamborough Head - major joint in chalk enlarged
  • Caves, arches, stacks formed over time e.g. Green Stacks Pinnacle
• More than 50 geos have formed along this coastline, most aligned NE or NEE - facing the dominant wind direction
• Beaches


  • Formed in sheltered, low energy bays e.g. Filey Bay
  • Little input from rivers, high energy waves remove sediment before it can accumulate, so beaches grow slowly
  • High energy inputs, longshore drift is significant from north to south, interrupted by headlands and accumulates to form beaches
  • Lack of spits, partly due to high tidal range and lack of an estuary
• Shore platforms


  • Formed by high energy waves e.g. Robin Hood's Bay
  • Some are relics of a past inter glacial
• In recent years there has been a net increase in sediment, with zones of erosion and deposition
• Winter storms continue to have a big erosional impact