AQA A-Level Geography 7037
Water and Carbon Cycles
Hot Desert Systems and LandscapesLandscape
Coastal Systems and LandscapesLandscape
Glacial Systems and LandscapesLandscape
HazardsHazards or ecosystems
Ecosystems Under StressHazards or ecosystems
Global Systems and Global Governance
Changing Places
Contemporary Urban EnvironmentsHuman option
Population and the EnvironmentHuman option
Resource SecurityHuman option
Coastal Systems and Landscapes
Cliffs, Notches and Wave-Cut Platforms
- 4 things to know
- Component 1
Overview
Recall questions on what starts cliff formation, how a wave-cut notch undercuts the face and what follows the collapse of the overhang.
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
How do caves form in coastal cliffs?
Why is the balance between marine erosion rate and weathering important for cliff form?
Explain how a wave-cut notch leads to cliff retreat.
Questions from this subtopic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What process initiates cliff formation at the coast?
Model answer
Wave attack at the cliff base, where wave energy is concentrated against the rock.
- 2
What is a wave-cut notch?
Model answer
An indentation eroded into the base of a cliff by wave action, typically at high tide level.
- 3
How does undercutting contribute to cliff development?
Model answer
The wave-cut notch removes support from the rock above, leaving an unstable overhang.
- 4
What happens to the overhanging material above a wave-cut notch?
Model answer
It collapses under its own weight when the notch becomes too deep to support it.
- 5
What is cliff retreat?
Model answer
The progressive landward movement of a cliff face as repeated cycles of undercutting and collapse occur.
- 6
Define a wave-cut platform.
Model answer
A gently sloping rocky surface exposed at low tide, formed by cliff retreat leaving behind the eroded base of the former cliff.
Other ways to work this
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