Help
Options
Didn't know it?
click below
click below
Knew it?
click below
click below
Don't Know
Remaining cards (0)
Know
retry
shuffle
restart
0:00
Embed Code - If you would like this activity on your web page, copy the script below and paste it into your web page.
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Geography Glossary
Geography Key Words and Definitions Coasts Topic
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Biological weathering (physical) | Breakdown of rock by the roots of plants or the burrowing of animals and insects |
| Chemical weathering | The breakdown of rocks by chemical reactions eg. carbonation of limestone and chalk |
| Freeze-thaw weathering | Occurs when water seeps into cracks in rock the freezes, expands, and breaks the rock apart |
| Onion-skin weathering | Also known as exfoliation and is the process of weathering caused by temperature changes in which the outer layers of rock split and peel away |
| Physical weathering | The natural breakdown of rocks by stresses and strains caused by the weather |
| Weathering | The natural breakdown or weakening of rocks at the Earth’s surface |
| Erosion | The wearing away of the land by wind, water and ice. The wearing away of already weathered material |
| Fetch | Distance of open sea or ocean over which waves are generated |
| Prevailing wind | The most frequent wind in an area |
| Attrition | A process of erosion which wears away and smoothes particles of rock as they bump into each other while being carried by rivers, waves or wind |
| Constructive waves | A gently breaking wave with a strong swash and weak backwash, encouraging deposition |
| Corrasion/ abrasion | When particles of rock carried by rivers, waves, glaciers and wind wear away the surface of other rocks |
| Corrosion/ solution | Saltwater dissolves the mineral structure of rock |
| Destructive wave | Powerful wave with weak swash and strong backwash, encouraging erosion |
| Hydraulic action | The way in which flowing water in rivers, and waves pounding at the coast, erode the land |
| Stack | A coastal feature formed when the roof of an arch collapses |
| Wave cut platform | A gently sloping rock surface running from a cliff down to the sea |
| Permeable rock | A rock which allows water to soak through, it is usually more easily eroded |
| Wave cut notch | A groove at the foot of a cliff cut by wave erosion or undercutting |
| Resistant rock | A hard rock which is weathered and eroded slowly as it is usually impermeable |
| Fault line/ joint | A large crack in the rock, perhaps caused by earth movements |
| Stump | A low block of rock in the sea, left behind after a stack has collapsed as a result of erosion |
| Cave | On coasts, an area hollowed out by waves at the base of a cliff at a line of weakness (by abrasion & hydraulic action) |
| Headland | A piece of land that sticks out from a coastline into the sea |
| Blowhole | A vertical shaft connecting a sea cave with the cliff top through which water and air may be forced by large waves |
| Swash | The movement of a wave up the beach |
| Backwash | The movement of a wave back down the beach |
| Longshore drift | The transportation of beach material along the coast in the direction of the dominant waves |
| Transportation | The movement of weathered and eroded particles of rock by wind, water and ice |
| Bar | A low island of sand which is covered by the high tide |
| Spit | A curved beach which extends in to the sea at a river mouth, or a break in the coastline |
| Bay | A curved inlet in the shore of a lake or sea |
| Lagoon | A lake which is cut off from the sea by a spit, bar or coral reef |
| Sand bank | A ridge of sand and shingle across the entrance to a bay or river mouth |
| Sand dune | A ridge of wind-blown sand hills formed on the coast or in deserts |
| Salt marsh | Also known as a salting, this is a coastal wetland which is found in river estuaries and in the sheltered area behind spits |
| Tidal range | The difference in height between high and low tide |
| Deposition | The dropping of material which has been transported by wind, water or ice |
| Estuary | The part of a river that is affected by the rise and fall of the tide |
| Groyne | A barrier built down a beach to reduce the loss of sand and pebbles by longshore drift |
| Marram grass | A desert grass grown because its roots help sand to collect |
| Rock armour/ rip rap | A form of coastal management where boulders are placed at the base of cliffs to protect them from erosion by waves |
| Beach nourishment | A way of managing erosion on the coast by adding new material to the beach, usually by truck |
| Gabions | Wire baskets, filled with rocks, placed where there is river or coastal erosion |
| Revetments | Fence-like, open wooden coastal defence structures, designed to absorb wave energy and reduce erosion |
| Coastal management | How humans try to alter the coast to defend and protect the land |
| Hard defences | The ‘concrete’ style of defences such as a sea wall |
| Managed retreat | An approach to coastal management; we no longer protect some low-lying coastal areas from flooding but allow less valuable land to erode |
Created by:
sallyfizz
Popular Geography sets