Investigating

Coasts

A Website designed for Geography education in Primary Schools.

Glossary

abrasion: a process of erosion, caused by pebbles rubbing together, or pebbles rubbing against cliffs.

arch: an erosional landform, where there is a hole in a cliff, caused by continual erosion.

attrition: a process of erosion, where materials are eroded as they are smashed into each other, for example by waves.

bay: an erosional feature where the sea has eroded the coastline, and the land curves inwards.

beach: a depositional feature, where sand or pebbles have been deposited along the coastline.

cave: a hole in the cliff face, caused by erosion of weaker rock.

cliff: a steep or vertical rock face, found on the coastline or behind the beach.

deposition: when the sea drops the sediment it is carrying, because it loses its energy.

dune: depositional features found behind the beach, caused by the wind moving the sand.

erosion: the wearing away of rock material, e.g. cliff faces. There are several methods of this.

estuary: where the river meets the sea, and forms a narrow inlet of water.

groyne: man-made barriers built across the beach to stop the movement of the sand.

headland: hard rock areas, which jut out into the sea, as they have not been eroded.

hydraulic pressure: a process of erosion, where water gets into the cracks in rocks, and the pressure breaks the rock up.

longshore drift: the movement of beach material, i.e. sand or pebbles, across the beach in one direction, caused by the movement of the sea.

pebbles: small, rounded pieces of rock. The sides of them have been eroded, making them smooth.

sand: very small, fine pieces of rock, found on beaches.

sea wall: a man-made wall built to hold back the sea to protect coastal towns.

solution: a form of erosion where certain types of rocks are dissolved by the sea.

spit: a bank of sand, which has been built by the sea through deposition, often across estuaries.

stack: a lump of rock out to sea, just off the coastline. An erosional landform.

tourist: someone who visits an area, maybe on holiday. They do not live there.

transportation: the movement of sediment by the sea.

wave: the movement of the sea.

Do you know what these words mean?

Are there any other words we use in describing coasts?

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