Coastal landforms
spits
Tombolos
sand dunes
beaches
Bars
Salt marsh
what is this feature?
A spit is a narrow coastal land formation tied to the coast at one end caused by wave deposition.
how is it formed?
Spits form where the coastline changes direction and longshore drift continues to move material along the beach. Longshore drift will deposit material in the sea after the coastline has changed direction. Over time the level of the sand deposited will build-up until it is above sea level where even the high tide can’t reach.
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Salt marshes are sometimes formed behind them
Spits continue to grow until the water is too deep or sediment is being removed too fast
Tombolos are formed from spits that connect to land.
what is this feature?
What is this feature?
Salt marshes are coastal wetlands that are flooded and drained by salt water brought in by the tides. They are marshy because the soil may be composed of deep mud and peat.Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats are coastal wetlands that form in in tidal where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. They can be found at the mouths of
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-Saltmarshes support a range of rare and important plants and animals and provide a breeding ground for animals such as redshanks
-saltmarshes reduce erosion , stabilize shorelines, and protect against storm surges.
-mudflats act as natural flood defences and their nutrient rich sediments support a great abundance of life.
how is it formed?
Mudflats are created by the deposition of fine silts and clays in sheltered low energy coastal environments such as estuaries. When water benign carried by water though suspension or solution slows down it depositites the sediment and creates mud flats. This is the same for salt marshes but have plants and vegetation in them often as they are more inland and sheltered
what is this feature?
A beach is a narrow and gently sloping strip of land that lies along the edge of the ocean . they are deposits of sand and pebbles at the coast, and sandy beaches are usually found in sheltered bays, the waves entering these beaches are usually constructive waves.
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It can take thousands of years to create a natural beach
Sand is made of broken down minerals and rock
Sand is specific to the rock around the beach
how is it formed?
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When the sea transports material, via mainly tides and currents, that has been eroded elsewhere, to the shore.
The main types of erosion that forms beaches is chemical and physical such as waves.
Pebble beaches are often formed from cliff eroding, these small rocks, soil and other materials make up a pebble beach.
how is it formed?
A bar is when a spit extends across a bay this is created because longshore drift causes a ridge of sand or shingle to grow across a bay, trapping water behind it in lagoons
what is this feature?
Bars are linear ridges of sand/shingle extending across a bay and are connected to land on both sides. It traps a body of seawater behind it, forming a lagoon. In short A bar is a ridge of sand or single that joins two headlands either side of a bay.
facts
The area behind the newly formed bar is known as a lagoon
In the UK some offshore bars have been driven onshore by rising sea levels following ice melt at the end of the last glacial period some 8000 years ago