Coastal Landforms

Explanations of coastal landforms created by coastal processes are explained below.

Arch – Continual erosion into a headland undermining the foundations. This is usually seen in hard rock

landforms such as chalk. An example on our frontage is White Ness (Thanet).

Bar – Offshore accumulation of sediments due to wave erosion, transportation and deposition. We do

not have any examples of bars along our coastline but an example is Slapton Ley, Devon.

Barrier Beach – An elongated sandy bar which runs parallel

to the beach and is attached to the coast at both ends,

however the main body is separated by lagoons. There

are no examples of this in the south east of England

however Chesil Beach is characterised by this coastal

feature.

Barrier Island – Offshore group of sandy islands arranged

parallel to the shoreline. It is not attached to the coast.

Bay – Sheltered inlet formed due to the preferential erosion of soft rock. Bays are formed over

hundreds/thousands of years due to the erosion of soft rock such as clay or sandstone. Soft rock erodes

much faster than hard rock - chalk or limestone, creating headlands. We have plenty examples of bay

formation along our coastline, including Botany Bay in Thanet, Kent and Pevensey Bay in East Sussex.

BOTANY BAY, KENT

CHESIL BEACH, DORSET

Coastal Landforms

Beach – an area of coastal sediment

accumulation at the land-sea boundary. The

beach is the first line of defence for coastal

protection. The beaches along our coastline

are characterised by shingle, sand, shell and

shale.

Delta – Deposition of fluvial sediments into the coastal waters.

Dunes – Sand accumulation in the backshore formed from wind-blown sediments creates sand dunes.

Dunes usually run parallel with the coastline and protect the hinterland from coastal erosion and

flooding. Dune systems are relatively unstable unless vegetated (e.g. marram grass) as the roots hold

the dunes in place. On our frontage we have several dune systems; Camber Sands extend eastwards

into Jury’s Gap and Climping in West Sussex also has an extensive dune system.

HASTINGS, KENT

CAMBER SANDS, KENT

Coastal Landforms

Estuary – Mouth of river causing mixing of salt and fresh water. Examples of our estuaries include River

Stour in Sandwich, the River Arun in Arun and the River Adur in Adur.

Fjord – submerged glacial valley due to sea level rise.

Headland - Outcrop of hard rock formed as

a result of the erosion of surrounding bays.

The largest headland along our frontage is

Beachy Head, East Sussex, followed by

Selsey Bill, Sussex. Both are chalk

headlands and their prominence has made

them English landmarks, from the top of

Beachy Head you can see to the east, Jury’s

Gap and to the west you can see Selsey Bill.

Mudflat – Sheltered depositional area of fine sediments periodically exposed at low tide; also known as

tidal flats. Seasalter, Kent, has a large mudflat which extends into the Swale Estuary and is designated

SSSI, RAMSAR and SPA.

Ria – Submerged river valley due to sea level rise. There are none within our area; the closest ria is in

Salcombe Estuary in Devon.

SELSEY BILL, SUSSEX

Coastal Landforms

Saltmarsh – Sheltered mud behind spits and estuaries inhabited by Spartina grass, periodically

inundated at high tide. Examples of saltmarsh along our coastline include Pagham Harbour in Sussex,

Faversham Creek on the north Kent coast and Yanlet Creek on the Isle of Grain.

Spit – Sea ward deposition of sediment in the

direction of long shore drift, often occurring on the

bend of a coastline or at the mouth of an estuary.

Examples of spits on our coastline include Shell Ness

spit on the Isle of Grain, Pagham, Castle Coote at

Seasalter and Shoreham.

Stack – Further backward erosion into a headland resulting in a collapsed arch and the formation of a

sea stack. An example of this is at Botany Bay in Kent (see Bay, for picture).

Coastal Landforms

Tombolo – Sea ward deposition of sediment linking the mainland to an island. We have no tombolo

within the south east boundaries; however good examples include Holy Island, Northumberland, St

Michael’s Mount, Cornwall, and the Isle of Portland.