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Coastal Landscapes and Processes

Geology, wave type and UK weather at the coast

  • 3 things to know
  • Paper 1 section A

Overview

Concordant and discordant coastlines and the plan shapes they give, joints and faults, hard and soft rock cliffs, destructive and constructive waves and winter beaches, prevailing south-westerly winds and fetch, and how storms and heavy rain speed up cliff retreat.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

What is a fault, and why does it matter at the coast?

Key term

What is a concordant coastline?

Key term

What is a discordant coastline?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What is a concordant coastline?

    Model answer

    One where the bands of rock lie parallel to the shore, so a single rock type faces the sea along that stretch.

  2. 2

    What is a discordant coastline?

    Model answer

    One where alternating bands of rock meet the shore at right angles, so different rock types are exposed to the waves side by side.

  3. 3

    Why does a discordant coast develop an uneven plan shape?

    Model answer

    The weaker rock bands are cut back quickly to form bays while the more resistant bands are left sticking out as headlands.

  4. 4

    Why does a concordant coast usually have a much straighter outline?

    Model answer

    The same resistant band shields the whole stretch, so the sea wears it back at a similar rate everywhere instead of picking out weak points.

  5. 5

    What are joints in a cliff, and what difference do they make?

    Model answer

    They are natural cracks in the rock, and they give waves and weathering lines of weakness to attack, so a heavily jointed cliff erodes faster.

  6. 6

    What is a fault, and why does it matter at the coast?

    Model answer

    A fracture where rock has been shifted and shattered by earth movements, and the broken zone is much weaker, so the sea often carves a cave or inlet along it.

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