Coastal Depostition
is when the sea drops or deposits material. This can include
sand, sediment and shingle.
Coastal Depostition
Beaches
The beach is the area
between the lowest spring tide level and the point reached
by the storm waves in the highest tides. Every beach is different
but they are usually made up of material deposited on a wave-cut
platform.
Longshore
Drift
Longshore drift is the
movement of material along the shore by wave action.
Longshore drift happens when waves moves towards the coast
at an angle. The swash (waves moving up the beach) carries
material up and along the beach. The backwash carries material
back down the beach at right angles. This is the reult of
gravity. This process slowly moves material along the beach.
Longshore drift provides a link between erosion and deposition.
Material in one place is eroded, transported then deposited
elswhere.
Other
Features Formed By Deposition
Longshore drift moves
material along a coastline. Where there is an obstruction
or the power of the waves is reduced the material is deposited.
Where rivers or estuaries meet the sea deposition often occurs.
The sediment which is deposited usually builds up over the
years to form a long ridge of material (usually sand or shingle).
Such a ridge is called a spit. Spurn
Head on the Holderness Coast is an example of this feature.