Coasts

What the Coasts resources cover

The unit follows the coast from process to landform to management. The Mind Map Sediment Cells sets out inputs, transfers, stores, cliff erosion, beaches, dunes, spits and beach recharge. The notes on spits, bars and tombolos explain how longshore drift carries material along the beach when wind arrives at an angle.

Landforms and case studies

The Mind Map costal landforms covers spits, cliffs and wave-cut platforms, headlands and bays, and caves, arches, stacks and stumps. Emergent Features looks at raised beaches and wave-cut notches. For real places, try the Mind Map Spit Case Study and the one on cliff collapse at Holderness. The Mississippi Delta maps give figures such as a delta area of 26,000km2 and a river carrying 450m tonnes of sediment a year.

A sensible order

1. Start with Coasts or Coastal Landscapes maps for the big picture.
2. Move to Sediment Cells and the erosion and deposition maps.
3. Add case studies and the coastline management maps.
4. Finish with flashcards and quizzes.

Using quizzes and maps together

Read a map first, then try the quiz Natural Processes - Coastal Quiz. It asks about the coast as the zone where land and sea meet, how water particles move and what fetch is. Wrong answers show which map to reopen. The flashcard deck Coasts Test is useful for systems vocabulary such as inputs, outputs and the four spheres.

Where it fits

Coasts sits in the Surface Processes and Landscapes strand of Geology and earth sciences. Most resources suit school students, including GCSE Geography and A-level Geography revision. Pick one map today and see what you can recall.