GCSE Geography: Coastal Landforms Part One

Key Topics

• Discordant and Concordant Coastlines
• Headlands and Bays
• Caves, Arches, and Stacks

Overview

In this lecture, we explore how rock types and geological structures influence the formation of erosional landforms along coastlines.

Discordant and Concordant Coastlines

• Discordant Coastlines: Characterized by alternating bands of hard and soft rock positioned at right angles to the coast.
• Concordant Coastlines: Feature alternating bands of rock that run parallel to the coast.

Formation of Headlands and Bays

• Discordant Coastlines:
  • Made up of alternating bands of resistant and less resistant rock.
  • Less Resistant Rock: Erodes faster, forming bays with gentle slopes.
  • Resistant Rock: Erodes more slowly, forming headlands with steep sides.

Formation of Caves, Arches, and Stacks

• Headlands: Composed of resistant rock with potential weaknesses like cracks.
• Erosion Processes:
  • Hydraulic Power: Waves crash into the headlands, enlarging cracks.
  • Abrasion: Further enlarges cracks to form caves.
• Cave to Arch:
  • Continuous erosion enlarges caves until they break through the headland, forming an arch.
• Arch to Stack:
  • Erosion continues, wearing away the rock supporting the arch until it collapses.
  • Collapse forms a stack, an isolated rock separate from the headland.

Additional Concepts (for Part Two)

Part two will cover:

• Wave Cut Platforms
• Beaches
• Spits
• Bars
• Sand Dunes

Stay tuned for further exploration of coastal landforms in subsequent videos.