Saltburn to Flamborough Head

• Coastal environment between Saltburn and Flamborough Head

  • Rocky upland area
  • 60 km long
  • Displays many coastal landforms
  • Influenced by high wave energy
• The adjacent North York Moors rise up to 400 meters above sea level and comprise mainly sandstones, shales and limestones formed during the Jurassic Period, as well as some Carboniferous rocks
• Flamborough Head


  • Large chalk headland
  • cliffs topped with till (glacial deposit)
• Dominant waves

  • From the north and northeast with a fetch of over 1500 km
  • Most exposed parts are north-facing near Saltburn, receiving highest wave energy inputs
• Erosion rates vary partly due to differences in wave energy inputs, but also due to variations in the resistance of the geological formations
• Areas of relatively weak shale and clay experience erosion rates of 0.8 meters per year on average, while the more resistant sandstones and limestones only erode at a rate of less than 0.1 meters per year
• Wave height monitoring in Whitby Bay revealed that waves often exceeded 4 meters even during summer months
• Longshore drift

  Significant sediment movement from north to south along the coastline
• Sediment accumulation

  • Longshore drift interrupted by headlands
  • Sediment accumulates to form beaches in bays such as Filey Bay
• Sediment sources

  In sub cell 1d of sediment cell 1

  Some sediment has come from there near-shore area as sea levels rose at the end of the last glacial period

  Sediment also supplied by cliff erosion, including sandstone and chalk from the resistant rock outcrops
• The only large river, the Esk, supplies limited amounts of sediment due to the construction of weirs and reinforced banks
• Beach surveys found a net increase in beach sediment of 9,245 cubic meters between 2008 and 2011 at Saltburn, with zones of both erosion and accretion observed within Filey Bay
• Cliff profiles

  • sedimentary rocks are horizontally bedded and tend to have a vertical face
  • Overlain by a layer of weak glacial till with a much lower angle
• Flamborough Cliffs

  • Made of physically strong chalk with tightly bonded material particles
  • Typically 20 - 30 meters high with the overlying till lowered by mass movement processes to an angle of about 40 degrees
• Cliffs between Robin Hood's Bay and Saltburn

  • Much higher but often with a stepped profile reflecting the more varied geology
  • Steeper slope segments formed in more resistant sandstones and limestones, with gentler slopes corresponding to weaker clays and shales, again lowered by mass movement processes
• Shore platforms

  • Formed by high energy waves and active erosion as cliffs retreat
  • Good example at Robin Hood's Bay, eroded into lower Lias shales with a typical angle of 1 degree, although ramp sections can be as steep as 15 degrees
  • Can extend up to 500 meters wide and much further offshore
• Shore platforms could have been formed within the last 6,000 years during times of predominantly stable sea levels, but some experts suggest they are relic features formed during earlier interglacial periods
• Headlands and bays

  • Formed due to variation in rock type along the coastline
  • Robin Hood's Bay eroded into relatively weak shales with more resistant bands of sandstone forming the headlands (Ravenscar to the south and Ness point to the north
  • Filey Bay developed in weak Kimmeridge clay flanked by more resistant limestone and chalk
• Flamborough Head

  • Prominent headland formed of chalk with deep bays at either side formed from weaker clay
• Landforms on headlands

  • Wave refraction concentrates energy on resistant headlands, exploiting weaknesses like joints or faults to form caves and arches
• Landforms

  • Selwick's Bay at Flamborough Head - a master joint has been enlarged forming caves
  • Green Stacks Pinnacle is a stack isolated at the end of a headland following the collapse of an arch roof
• Over 50 geos are formed along this coastline, most aligned to the northeast or north-northeast facing the dominant wind direction
• Blowholes have developed where vertical master joints in the chalk have been enlarged. Subsequently, chalk and boulder clay have collapsed into the underlying sea caves leaving funnel-shaped depressions of the cliff tops,
• On the north side of Selwick's bay, several blowholes have merged and the intervening chalk has collapsed to produce a complex inlet
• Beaches

  • Very few well-developed beaches, the best examples in sheltered, low energy environments like Scarborough and Filey Bay
  • Elsewhere, deposits of sand and shingle accumulate slowly due to low sediment input and high energy waves removing sediment before it can accumulate
  • Lack of spits and other drift-aligned features partially due to high tidal range of about 4 meters and lack of estuarine environments to provide sediment sinks