Year 8 Geography, Lecture notes of Geography

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Year 8 Geography

Name:

Landscapes

Useful websites

 BBC Bitesize: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize  Cool Geography: http://www.coolgeography.co.uk/  National Geographic: https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/category/kids-club/

The images below show some of the more well-known parts of the UK coastline.

The Jurassic Coast, Dorset, considered one of the most beautiful coastal landscapes in the UK.

Padstow, a small fishing village on the north Cornwall coastline.

Blackpool in north-west England, one of the earlier seaside tourist destinations.

Happisburgh on the north-east coast of Norfolk. An area that suffers from coastal erosion and flooding.

Liverpool 2, north-west England. One of the busiest trading ports in the UK. The white cliffs of Dover.

The Giant’s Causeway. An impressive geological feature in Northern Ireland.

The Old Man of Hoy. A well- known coastal landform on Scottish coastline.

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Task

Using the information on the previous page (and possibly some research), complete the table below. You need to match the description and the image to the location and then explain why each place is important, try to develop your explanations further than you did for the first task.

Location Number

Name and description of the location Importance

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The type of wave - the amount of energy a wave has helps determine the rate of erosion.

Deposition is likely to occur when:

 waves enter an area of shallow water  waves enter a sheltered bay  there are calm conditions with little wind

The importance of waves

The power of waves is one of the most important forces that changes the shape of the coast. Waves are created by wind blowing over the surface of the sea.

The size of a wave depends on:

 length of time the wind has been blowing  strength of the wind  'fetch' - how far the wind has travelled

Wave types

Waves can be constructive or destructive.

When a wave breaks, water is washed up the beach. This is called the swash. Then the water runs back down the beach, which is called the backwash.

With a constructive wave , the swash is stronger than the backwash. With a destructive wave , the backwash is stronger than the swash

If the swash is stronger than the backwash (constructive wave), some of the sediment carried in the wave will be left behind to build up the beach. This means that the beach increases in size.

If the swash is weaker than the backwash (destructive wave), very little sediment is carried up the beach. With a strong backwash, material will be removed and the beach will decrease in size.

Coastal Processes Quiz – click on the circle next to the correct answer

1. What is the correct definition of the coastal zone?

Where the land meets the sea

Where people go on holiday

Where destructive waves are common

2. Which process involves the wearing away of the coastline by powerful waves?

Erosion

Transportation

Deposition

3. How does rock type affect rates of coastal erosion?

Harder rock erodes more quickly

Harder rock erodes more slowly

Older rocks erode more quickly

4. How does a discordant coastline erode?

Evenly, at the same rate

Rapidly

At different rates

5. What is the effect of wave refraction?

It concentrates wave energy on headlands

It prevents waves from reaching the coastline

It concentrates wave energy on bays

Part 3: Coastal Landforms

What landforms are created by coastal processes?

Coastal landforms created by erosion include headlands, bays and cliffs. Landforms created by deposition include spits, salt marshes and beaches.

Landforms created by erosion

The coastline is constantly eroding. There are four key types of erosion:

Abrasion - waves transport material which hit the cliff and gradually wear it away.

Hydraulic action – the power of the water crashing against the coastline.

Attrition - waves cause the rocks to crash against each other, breaking them down into smaller and rounder pieces.

In addition, changes in landforms can be a result of wind erosion, weathering and processes such as mass movement.

Headlands and bays

Headlands are usually formed of more resistant rock types than bays.

If there are different bands of rock along a coastline, the weaker or softer rock, such as clay, is eroded fastest. This leaves more resistant rock types, such as granite, sticking out.

Task

Using all of the information you have learnt so far, annotate around the image below to explain how coastal processes have resulted in the formation of headlands and bays. Use the text boxes provided.

Remember to include

 all relevant key terms  detailed explanation of the processes  a real life example

Part 4: Coastal Management

How can the coastline be protected from coastal processes?

Coasts can be protected from erosion through hard engineering, like sea walls, and soft engineering, like beach nourishment. These have both positive and negative effects.

Coasts are important for many different reasons and for different groups of people. They provide:

 places to live  places to work, eg fishing, ports and power stations  places to relax - leisure and tourism industries  wildlife habitats  beautiful scenery  educational value, eg geology and natural history

It is not possible to completely stop the power of natural forces from changing the coast. People try to protect some areas from erosion but this can have negative impacts as well as positive. The way the coast is managed can cause conflict between different groups of people.

There are two types of coastal management:

Hard engineering - this involves building structures to protect the coast. Tends to be more expensive and less natural looking.

Soft engineering - this involves working with nature by using natural materials or allowing nature to take back areas.

Below is a range of coastal management strategies being used at Hunstanton in Norfolk.

Task

Read about the different coastal management strategies in the table below. Based on the description, identify whether you think the strategy is hard or soft.

Management Strategy Advantages Disadvantages Is it engineering?^ hard or soft

Sea wall Protects the area behind the wall Can provide a promenade to walk on Helps prevent flooding

Very expensive Waves bounce of the wall and remove material from the beach Can look ugly

Beach nourishment Adds more material to the beach which widens beach and reduces the power of the waves as they approach Looks natural

Doesn’t last long before it need doing again

Groynes Helps to stop longshore drift which is the movement of material along a coastline Traps material and builds up beach

May create problems further along the coast as they starve other beaches of material

Managed retreat Allows the land to flood and becomes a marsh which acts as a buffer and reduces coastal erosion Creates new habitats

Land is lost Land owners need to be compensated Farmland may be lost

Rock armour or Rip rap Large boulders absorb the wave energy and reduce the power of the waves Reduces erosion

Strong waves can remove material from around the boulder Can look ugly Can be dangerous to walk on