Scribd
Upload
10 views5 pages

Coastal Depositional Features notes

The document outlines the topic of Coastal Depositional Features for 10th-grade geography students at Meadowbrook High School. It covers key objectives such as identifying coastal landforms, explaining the formation of spits, tombolos, and bars, and includes descriptions of features like beaches, spits, tombolos, and lagoons. The document emphasizes the processes of wave deposition and longshore drift in shaping these coastal features.

Uploaded by

Sunniel Bernard
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
10 views5 pages

Coastal Depositional Features notes

The document outlines the topic of Coastal Depositional Features for 10th-grade geography students at Meadowbrook High School. It covers key objectives such as identifying coastal landforms, explaining the formation of spits, tombolos, and bars, and includes descriptions of features like beaches, spits, tombolos, and lagoons. The document emphasizes the processes of wave deposition and longshore drift in shaping these coastal features.

Uploaded by

Sunniel Bernard
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 5

School: Meadowbrook High School

Subject: Geography

Grade: 10

Topic: Coastal Depositional Features

Objectives: Students should be able to:

1. Identify at least four coastal depositional features/landforms.


2. Explain how spits and tombolos are formed.
3. Explain how bars are formed.
4. Draw diagrams to show different coastal depositional features.

Coastal Depositional Features


Constructive waves deposit material on the shore. Some features formed by wave deposition
are:
Beaches
Most beaches in the Caribbean are made of sand. Sandy beaches are most often in sheltered

bays where they are called bayhead beaches. When waves enter these bays they are forced to

bend to mirror the shape of the coast. This is called wave refraction. It is caused by the

shallowing of the water as the waves enter the bay. Refraction spreads out and reduces the

wave energy in a bay, which is why deposition occurs here. Sandy beaches can also be found

on stretches of coastline protected by fringing coral reefs.


Bay-head beach in Brazil

Spits

A spit is a long, narrow finger of sand or shingles jutting out into the sea from the land. Spits

are formed by the process of longshore drift, and they tend to occur where there is a change

in the direction of the coastline - for example, at a river mouth. The following conditions are

needed to form a spit:

 The sea must be relatively shallow.

 There must be a good supply of sand and other sediment.

 Waves must approach the coast at an angle, so that longshore drift moves material

along the coast rather than simply up and down the beach.

 For most spits, the sea is usually calm, with low-energy constructive waves.

Over time, a spit becomes colonised by grass and bushes and eventually trees will grow. On

the sheltered landward side of a spit, where the water is very calm, mudflats and salt marshes

will form. These are important habitats for plants and birds. Cocal spit in Trinidad is a good

example of a spit in the Caribbean.


Diagram showing formation of a spit.

Tombolo

This is a linear deposit of material formed by longshore drift which joins an island to the

mainland. This happens when a spit grow out to join an island to the minland. The island of

Scotts Head on the southern coast of Dominica has become attached to the mainland by a

tombolo as a result of deposition of sediment by longshore drift from east to west. The

Palisadoes in Jamaica is another example of a tombolo.


Bars

A bar is a linear deposit of beach material running approximately parallel to the line of the

coast. Some bars are submerged and others appear above the waves. They may be stabilized

by vegetation and grow large enough to form a barrier island.

An offshore bar is not directly joined to the coast. It is formed where a long tongue of sand

is deposited parallel to the coastline by breaking waves as they approach the shore. Offshore

bars may be formed parallel to gently sloping coasts that are being gradually submerged.

There are offshore and barrier islands off the cost of Florida, Georgia and Virgnia in USA.

Bay-bar is a tongue of sand or other material that extends across a bay. Some are formed by

longshore drift. Water trapped behind the bar can form a lagoon.
Lagoons

The still, sheltered water behind a spit or a bar may form a lagoon. Within a lagoon:

 there are no large waves.

 mud and silt accumulate on the lagoon floor.

 mangroves and other plants can grow.

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy