How is a spit formed a level?
Spits are formed where the coast suddenly changes direction e.g. across a river mouth. Longshore drift continues to deposit material across the mouth of a river which results in the formation of a long bank of sand and shingle.
What are the three key steps in the formation of a spit?
This is how spits are formed:
- Sediment is carried by longshore drift.
- When there is a change in the shape of the coastline, deposition occurs.
- A hooked end can form if there is a change in wind direction.
- Waves cannot get past a spit, therefore the water behind a spit is very sheltered.
How are spits formed 6 marks?
A spit is a depositional coastal landform that forms by longshore drift. The prevailing wind pushes constructive waves up the beach at an angle as the swash. The waves then travel at a ninety degree angle back down the beach due to gravity as the backwash.
How are double spits formed?
Double spits are where two spits extend out in opposite directions from both sides of the bay, towards the middle. They form where longshore drift is operating in different directions on opposite sides of the bay.
How is a headland formed?
Headlands are formed when the sea attacks a section of coast with alternating bands of hard and soft rock. The bands of soft rock, such as sand and clay, erode more quickly than those of more resistant rock, such as chalk. This leaves a section of land jutting out into the sea called a headland.
How is a spit formed 8 marks?
A spit is an extended stretch of beach material that projects out to sea and is joined to the mainland at one end. Spits are formed where the prevailing wind blows at an angle to the coastline, resulting in longshore drift. An example of a spit is Spurn Head, found along the Holderness coast in Humberside.
What is a compound spit?
Compound spit: curved spit that has wide recurved distal end that usually encloses a lagoon. Offshore bars: composed of coarse sand or shingle.
How are spits and salt marshes formed?
The deposition of sediment forms a spit but its shape changes as a result of wave refraction. Refraction around the end of a spit curves it into a “hook” forming a recurved spit. As the area behind a spit is sheltered from waves and the wind, it provides the perfect environment for salt marshes to develop.
How are headland and bay formed?
Headlands and bays are features of coasts that are formed by erosion. Waves wear down different types of rocks at different rates. Softer rocks wear away more quickly than harder rocks. Bays form where the waves erode soft rocks , but headlands are left as land that juts out into the water.
How are headlands and bays formed a level?
Headlands and bays Discordant coastlines form where geology alternates between bands of hard and soft rock (see image below). As soft rock, such as glacial till, is more susceptible to erosion it erodes more rapidly than more resistant rock such as chalk. This results in the formation of headlands and bays.
How are headlands formed?
Where are spits found?
Spits frequently form where the coast abruptly changes direction and often occur across the mouths of estuaries; they may develop from each headland at harbour mouths. Spits, which may be composed of sand or shingle, are formed by the longshore movement of sediment.