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Blowholes can be a dramatic feature of a cliff structure.

Coastal Erosion

Cliffs, caves, arches and stacks are all linked to coastal erosion. This GCSE Geography quiz looks at how waves wear away rock and reshape the coastline.

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Fascinating Fact:

Erosion at the base of a cliff can create a wave-cut notch, which grows larger until the cliff above becomes unstable and collapses.

In GCSE Geography, coastal erosion is studied to explain how waves gradually wear away rock along the shoreline. Pupils learn how different rock types, wave strengths and marine processes combine to create headlands, bays and dramatic cliffs, as well as how these landscapes keep changing over time.

Key Terms

Coastal erosion: The wearing away of rocks and land at the coast by waves, often through repeated impact and the movement of sediment.
Hydraulic action: A process where waves trap and compress air in cracks in the rock, weakening it and causing pieces to break off.
Abrasion (corrasion): Erosion that happens when rock fragments carried by waves grind and scrape against cliffs, like sandpaper.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

What is coastal erosion in GCSE Geography?

In GCSE Geography, coastal erosion is the breakdown and removal of rock from the coastline by waves. It explains how features such as caves, arches, stacks and stumps are formed and changed.

Which processes cause cliffs to erode?

Cliffs are eroded by hydraulic action, abrasion, solution and attrition. Together these processes weaken the rock, remove loose material and help shape steep cliff faces and retreating coastlines.

How can people manage or reduce coastal erosion?

Coastal erosion can be managed using hard engineering, such as sea walls and groynes, or soft engineering, such as beach nourishment and managed retreat, depending on cost and local needs.

Try These Related Quizzes

1 .

How are stacks eroded to form stumps?

The rain and sea spray attack the stack from the top, gradually dissolving the rocks

The top-heavy nature of the stack, that may retain a lot of the material from the arch, will break off at the base far below sea level

The waves attack the base of the stack until it collapses under its own weight

Sediment washing along the coastline will build up and absorb the stack back into a larger landform

The stack is exposed on all sides and will be attacked by the waves. As the waves attack the base they can erode through it

2 .

'Old Harry Rocks' in Dorset are examples of an erosional feature left behind after an arch collapses. These tall columns of rocks are known as what?

Stacks

Stumps

Columns

Megaliths

Stacks are commonly tall columns of rock, although some of them may be very large and on their way to being eroded to stumps

3 .

Which type of underlying geology is most likely to be formed into straight cliffs?

Soft rocks like mudstone and siltstone

Hard rocks including granite and basalt

Loose materials like soils and sands

Rocks that are partially soluble

The more resistant rocks will form straighter cliffs. Softer rocks will have a shallower cliff structure as material erodes and collapses faster

4 .

When waves hit the cliff face they force air deeper into the cracks in the cliff face, which can weaken and lead to the erosion of this material. This form of erosion is known as what?

Saltation

Abrasion

Attrition

Hydraulic action

Hydraulic action takes place on rivers as well, but when you are talking about the creation of caves and other similar features this is the main erosive process

5 .

Which of the following refers to a coastline made of bands of various types of geology, including hard and soft rock?

Discordant coastline

Concordant coastline

Uncordant coastline

Variable coastline

The layers of hard and soft rock allow bays and headlands to form as the softer rock is eroded away

6 .

When the waves attack the base of the cliff they can undercut the overlying rock, forming what sort of feature?

Raised beach

Wave cut notch

Arch

Stack

As the notch increases in size the cliff face will collapse and retreat further

7 .

As a wave undercuts a cliff the cliff retreats. What feature is left behind as the cliff retreats?

Beach

Headland

Blowhole

Wave cut platform

As the wave cut notch undercuts the cliffs the platforms form. These are flat features that are noticeable if they are raised, due to sea levels falling, into a raised beach

8 .

An unusual geological feature forms when caves erode inland and, through hydraulic action, create gaps in the rock to the surface. As a wave pushes in the water is forced out of the top, often in a spout. What are these features known as?

Blowholes

Arches

Spots

Geysers

Blowholes can be a dramatic feature of a cliff structure. Eventually the cave roof will collapse and allow the sea further in

9 .

If a cave forms on a headland the waves may erode through to form what sort of feature?

Stack

Arch

Wave cut platform

Stump

Arches allow the waves to pass through and they in turn will further erode the material and increase the size of the arch

10 .

Why might a bay form?

On a discordant coastline the softer rock will be rapidly eroded away, leaving the harder rock to form headlands

On a concordant coastline weaknesses allow the water to work its way in and eventually erode a large area

A collapsed volcanic crater is flooded leaving a sheltered area

Former river valleys are flooded and form ports that gradually turn into bays

Discordant coastlines are the ones that form bays due to the different strength of the rocks. Concordant coastlines may have some small bays and headlands due to weakness in the rocks, but for the most part they are formed on discordant coastlines

You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - Coastal environments

Author: Ruth M