The Coastal Zone

Question 0

What are the characteristics of a Destructive wave.

Answer 0

Larger in height.
Weak swash
Strong backwash which pulls sand and shingle down the beach.

Question 1

What are the features of a constructive wave?

Answer 1

Smaller in height.
Strong swash pushes material up the beach.
Weak backwash with little erosion.

Question 2

Name the 4 types of Mass Movement.

Answer 2

Rockfall.
Landslide.
Mudflow.
Rotational slip.

Question 3

Define Rockfall.

Answer 3

Fragments of rock break away from the cliff face, often due to freeze-thaw weathering.

Question 4

Define Landslide.

Answer 4

Blocks of rock sliding downhill.

Question 5

Define Mudflow.

Answer 5

Saturated soil and weak rock flows down a slope.

Question 7

Define Rotational slip.

Answer 7

A slump of saturated soil and weak rock along a curved surface

Question 8

Fetch

Answer 8

The distance of open water over which the wind can blow

Question 9

Beach

Answer 9

A deposit of sand or shingle at the coast, often found at the head of a bay.

Question 10

Crest

Answer 10

The top of a wave

Question 11

Swash

Answer 11

The forward movement of a wave up the beach.

Question 12

Backwash

Answer 12

The backward movement of water down a beach when a wave has broken.

Question 13

Constructive wave

Answer 13

A powerful wave with a strong swash that surges up a beach.

Question 14

Destructive wave

Answer 14

A wave formed by a local storm that crashes down onto a beach and has a powerful backwash.

Question 15

Cliff

Answer 15

A steep or vertical face of rock often found at the coast.

Question 16

Rockfall

Answer 16

Fragments of rock break away from the cliff face, often due to freeze-thaw weathering.

Question 17

Landslide

Answer 17

Blocks of rock slide downhill

Question 18

Mudflow

Answer 18

Saturated soil and weak rock flows down a slope.

Question 19

Rotational Slip

Answer 19

Slump of saturated soil and weak rock along a curved surface.

Question 20

Hydraulic Power

Answer 20

The sheer power of waves.

Question 21

Corrasion

Answer 21

The effect of rocks being flung at the cliff by powerful waves.

Question 22

Longshore Drift

Answer 22

The transport of sediment along a stretch of coastline caused by waves approaching the beach at an angle.

Question 23

Bay

Answer 23

A broad Coastal inlet often with a beach.

Question 24

Headland

Answer 24

A point of usually high land jutting out into the sea.

Question 25

Wave-cut platform

Answer 25

A wide gently sloping rocky surface at the foot of a cliff.

Question 26

Wave-cut notch

Answer 26

A small indention (or notch) cut into a cliff by coastal erosion roughly at the level of high tide.

Question 27

Cave

Answer 27

A hollowed-out feature at the base of an eroding cliff.

Question 28

Arch

Answer 28

A headland that has been partly broken through by the sea to form a thin-roofed arch.

Question 29

Stack

Answer 29

An isolated pinnacle of rock sticking out of the sea.

Question 30

Spit

Answer 30

A finger of new land made of sand or shingle, jutting out into the sea from the coast.

Question 31

Salt marsh

Answer 31

Low-lying coastal wetland mostly extending between high and low tide.

Question 32

Bar

Answer 32

A spit that has grown across a bay.

Question 33

Sliding

Answer 33

A type of Mass movement involving material moving downhill on a flat surface (a landslide)

Question 34

Slumping

Answer 34

A type of mass movement involving material moving downhill under its own weight.

Question 35

Landslip

Answer 35

A type of mass movement common at the coast involving material slipping downhill usually along a curved slip surface.

Question 36

Shoreline Management Plan (SMP)

Answer 36

An integrated coastal management plan for a stretch of coastline in England and Wales.

Question 37

Hard Engineering

Answer 37

Building artificial structures such as sea walls aimed at controlling natural processes.

Question 38

Soft Engineering

Answer 38

A sustainable approach to managing the coast without using artificial structures.

Question 39

Sea wall

Answer 39

Concrete or rock barrier built at the foot of cliffs or the top of a beach.

Question 40

Groyne

Answer 40

Timber or rock structure built out to sea to trap sediment being moved by longshore drift.

Question 41

Rock Armour

Answer 41

Piles of large boulders dumped at the foot of a cliff to protect it by forcing waves to break and absorbing their energy.

Question 42

Managed Retreat

Answer 42

Allowing controlled flooding of low-lying coastal areas or cliff collapse in areas where the value of the land is low.

Question 43

Pioneer plant

Answer 43

The first plant species to colonise an area that is well adapted to living in a harsh environment.

Question 44

Sediment

Answer 44

Loose rock debris that has been weathered or eroded before being transported and then deposited.

Question 45

Vegetation succession

Answer 45

A sequence of vegetation species colonising an environment.