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The Holderness Coast - Coggle Diagram
The Holderness Coast
Erosion:
The Holderness Coast is one of Europes fastest eroding coastlines. The average annual rate of erosion is around 2 metres a year. The main reason for this is because the bedrock is made up of till (soft clay). This material was deposited by glaciers around 12,000 years ago.
The coastline stretches along the coast of East Riding of Yorkshire, known as Holderness, from Flamborough Head in the north, to Spurn Head in the south.
Since Roman Times, the Holderness Coast has retreated 4km - at least 29 villages have been lost to the sea.
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Impacts of erosion:
Economic impacts:
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The gas terminal in Easington, which supplies 25% of Britains gas, is at risk.
80,000 metres squared of farmland is lost each year, this has a huge effect on farmers livelihoods.
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Social impacts:
Around 30 villages have been lost since roman times, meaning homes and businesses have been lost.
Many of the settlements rely heavily on tourism, as facilities close down the settlements are unable to maintain a good population.
Properties under the threat of erosion lose their value leaving owners with negative equity. There is no financial help to aid people s no compensation is paid out for the loss of private property or land caused by coastal erosion in England.
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Environmental impacts:
Wildlife behind Spurn Point is losing diversity as the environment cannot support many species due to a lack of sediment. Spurn Head is a spit and salt marsh at the southern tip of the coastline.
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Fetch
Holderness is exposed to winds and waves from the north-east, with a fetch of 500-800km across the North Sea. This would normally cause large waves but other factors increase their size.
Currents move northwards around the UK from the Atlantic and into the North Sea. The Atlantic's fetch is 5000km so its currents add even more energy to the waves. This causes powerful destructive waves.
Weather systems and winter storms in the North Sea are often intense. The low pressure raises the sea level, producing higher tides than normal and the storms add energy to the waves.
The sea floor is deep in the North Sea, meaning waves hit the coast relatively fast and are not slowed down by friction.
Geology:
The Holderness Coast is made up of soft boulder clays (tills) left after the retreat of the Devonian ice sheets around 12,000 years ago.
They are a mass of brain clay containing pieces of rocks (erratics) brought there by the glaciers of Scandinavia, Scotland, the Lake District and North-east England. These soft recent deposits sit on a platform of chalk which slopes away gently to the east.
Boulder clay is structurally weak, and has little resistance to erosion. It produces sloping cliffs between 5 and 20 metres high. Chalk surrounds the boulder clay. This is a much stronger rock but had eroded along fault lines and bedding planes forming structures like cliffs, caves, arches and stacks.
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