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Year 7 - Geography

Depositional coastal landforms

Coasts: what shapes life at the coast?

Unit Summary

This unit teaches pupils how physical and human processes shape our coastline. Pupils will also learn about the threats and challenges coastlines face in a warming world.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to explain depositional processes and describe the coastal landforms they create.

Key Notes

  • Longshore drift is the lateral movement of sediment across the beach through swash and backwash.
  • Longshore drift creates depositional landforms such as spits, bars and tombolos.
  • Spits are long narrow ridges of sand or shingle which project from a coastline into the sea.
  • Salt marshes may form behind spits, as these are low energy zones.
  • Spits can change direction due to the prevailing wind, which makes them curve into a hook.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • deposition: when material such as sand, mud or rocks is dropped by the water that was carrying it
  • transportation: transportation is when water moves sand, mud and rocks
  • swash: when a wave rushes up the beach
  • backwash: when the water from a wave retreats back into the sea
  • sediment: material that is moved by water or air and settles in another place

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • That the direction of the prevailing wind is the direction that the wind is blowing in at any particular time.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain this geography topic using two clear key points.

Longshore drift is the lateral movement of sediment across the beach through swash and backwash. Longshore drift creates depositional landforms such as spits, bars and tombolos.

2. Define this geography term and use it in an example. 'deposition'

when material such as sand, mud or rocks is dropped by the water that was carrying it.

3. Correct this common geography misunderstanding.

Mistake: That the direction of the prevailing wind is the direction that the wind is blowing in at any particular time. Correction: The prevailing wind is wind from a particular direction that is most frequently experienced in a location. Winds can come from other directions, especially in stormy conditions, but they are not the same as the prevailing wind.

More Lessons In This Unit

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