Term | Definition |
Hydraulic action | force and power of the water wears away the coastline |
Abrasion | during storms loose rocks are thrown up by the waves against the coast |
compressed air | as waves crash against cliffs air is trapped in cracks and compressed ,as water retreats escaping air explodes shattering rock |
solution | soft rock dissolved by sea water eg limestone |
features of sea erosion | bays and headlands ,sea cliffs, arch,stack,caveand blow hole |
formation of a bay | areas of soft rock on the coastline are eroded faster than hard rock beside it forming a bay |
headland | as soft rock is eroded the hard rock around it juts out to sea forms headlands |
sea cliff | a steep sided high rock face on the coast |
sea cave | long hollow tunnel in a cliff |
sea arch | arch shaped opening in a headland example Old head of Kinsale Co Cork |
sea stack | chunk of rock in the sea surrounded by water
Cliffs of Moher co Clare |
blow hole | a funnel shaped hole that joins a cave
to the surface near a cliff edge
eg Bridges of Ross Co Clare |
longshore drift | movement of material along the shore |
beach | an area of boulders sand and shingle which is found between high and low tide |
sand spit | a ridge of sand and shingle which projects out to sea or across a bay eg Portmarnock Co Dublin |
sand bar | a ridge of sand and shingle which projects out to sea or across a bay and cuts off the bay eg. Roonagh Lough Co Mayo |
tombolo | a ridge of sand and shingle which projects out to sea or across a bay and joins an island to the mainland eg. Howth Co Dublin |
backwash | the return of the water down the beach |
advantages of the sea | recreation,fish catch,natural gas deposits, oil, |
disadvantages of the sea | erosion of land ,housing and cliffs,flooding, sand clogging harbours |
ways of protecting the coast | groynes,dykes and sea walls |