Depositional landforms

Question 1

Spit

Answer 1

Long narrow finger of sand and/or shingle jutting into the sea or an estuary due to longshore drift after coastline changes direction

Question 2

Saltmarshes

Answer 2

Forms behind spits as mud deposits build and vegetation grows

Question 3

Simple spit example

Answer 3

Spurn Head

Question 4

Compound spit example

Answer 4

Hooks from past ends, Hurst Castle

Question 5

Offshore bar

Answer 5

Waves approaching a gently sloping coast deposit material due to friction to form mounds waves break against

Question 6

Offshore bar example

Answer 6

Off the beach of Slapton Sands Devon

Question 7

Tombolo

Answer 7

Spit joins an island

Question 8

Tombolo example

Answer 8

Chesil Beach, Dorset

Question 9

Barrier beach (bar)

Answer 9

Beach/spit extends across a bay to join two headlands or across a cove, common if low tidal range

Question 10

Barrier beach example (bar)

Answer 10

Slapton Ley, Devon, across Start Bay

Question 11

Barrier islands

Answer 11

Unconsolidated sediment islands parallel to shore

Question 12

How do barrier islands form

Answer 12

From spits, storms cause inlets. From drowned dune ridges, enlarged as waves break against and deposit. From sand bars, moved shoreward by waves depositing on shoreward side and removing from seaward

Question 13

Barrier island example

Answer 13

Mustang Island Texas

Question 14

Vegetation succession

Answer 14

Evolution of plant communities at a site over time from pioneer species to climatic climax community (oak woodland in UK) or plagioclimax