Coastal Processes and Landforms
Coast is the interface between the land and oceans or other large bodies of water. This zone is
where the interaction of land and sea processes occur, as such, they are one of the most active
environments on Earth. Most coastal landforms result from action of ocean waves, and at times,
tides also have some impact.
Tides are periodic rising and falling of water in oceans and other larger bodies of water that is
caused by gravitational pull of the Moon, and to a lesser extent the Sun on the Earth. This pull
produces a very slight bulge in the ocean which is known as a tide. The major impact of tide is
shifting between high and low tide. They often determine the range over which sediments are
deposited or eroded.
Shore is the strip of land that lies between the high water and low water level. It is the strip of
land that is alternately covered or exposed by waves or tides.
Waves are generated by winds blowing over the ocean. They transfer energy from moving air to
the water surface resulting in the movement of a huge body of water towards the coast. As it
approaches the shoreline, it slows down due to friction. The wave breaks, and the water moves
up the coast as swash and retracts as backwash.
There are basically two types of waves:
- Constructive: The swash is more powerful than the backwash.
- Destructive: The backwash is more powerful than the swash.
Erosional Processes
Erosion is as a result of destructive waves wearing away the coast. It takes four forms:
Corrasion or abrasion: Boulders, pebbles, and sand are hurled against the base of the cliff by
waves, resulting in undercutting of the cliff, and breaking off of the rock.
Hydraulic action: Water is thrown against the cliff by waves thus compressing the air in the
cracks which expands when waves retreat. This action causes the rock to shatter and the cracks
become enlarged.
Attrition: Breaking down of beach materials (boulders, pebbles, sand, etc.) into smaller pieces as
they are dashed against the cliff and against themselves.
Solution or corrosion: Water dissolves materials that are soluble. Acids contained in sea water
dissolves some types of rock eg. chalk and limestone.
Erosional Features
Headland & bay: Headland is a strip of land that protrudes seaward from the coastland, while a
bay is a wide curved inlet of a sea. They are usually formed as a result of differences in the
resistance of coastal rocks. Headlands are usually resistant to coastal erosion while bays are less
resistant, and as such, the sea is able to eat into the land. Examples are Cape Verde in Senegal
and Cape Three Points in Ghana. Headlands are also known as capes, while bays are also known
as inlets or coves.
Cliff & wave-cut platforms: A cliff is a vertical or steep rock face overlooking the sea. They are
formed by the action of erosion and weathering. Softer rock pieces are broken off, and the harder
rocks are left as cliffs. As waves erode the base of the headland, the cliff face above the water
level is also attacked by weathering and mass movement. The combination of the wave action
below, and weathering above, leads to the collapse of the upper part of the cliff. Thus the cliff
retreats leaving a wave-cut platform. At times, the weathered materials collect along the seaward
edge of the wave-cut platform where it forms an offshore terrace.
Caves, geos & blow holes: Prolonged attack on the base of a cliff excavates holes in areas of
weak or less resistant rock to form caves. As caves get widened and deepened by continous wave
action, a tunnel is formed which may eventually reach the top of a cliff to produce an opening
known as blow hole. When the roof collapses, a narrow inlet is formed which is known as a geo.
Arch, stack & stump: Sometimes a cave in a headland is eroded right through to form an arch. If
the roof of the arch collapses, the column of rock that is left standing it is called stack. When a
stack is eroded to sea level, it is called a stump.
Transportation
The load transported include; materials eroded from the cliffs, those carried by rivers, and those
carried inland from offshore. These materials comprise of mud, sand and shingle. Swash and
backwash drag the materials up and down the shore. They are then carried away by the sea in the
process of longshore drift, traction, solution, suspension and saltation depending on the nature
and size of particles. Longshore drift is the movement and deposition of sediments along the
shoreline which is caused by ocean currents that flow close and almost parallel to the shoreline
(ie. longshore currents).
Depositional Features
They result from materials that are dropped by constructive waves.
Beach: It is formed from the accumulation of sand, gravel, and other loose materials deposited
by waves on the shore. There are different types depending on the dominant type of sediment on
the beach. For example if sand is dominant, it is called a sand beach.
Spit: It is a low, narrow ridge of pebbles or sand that projects from land into the sea. It is formed
by deposition of materials by longshore drift. It may be curved and can lie at the entrance of a
bay while connected to the headland.
Bar: It has the same origin and constitution as spit. It is a ridge of materials, usually sand which
lies parallel or almost parallel to the coast. Unlike spit, it is not attached to the land.
Tombolo: When a bar joins an offshore island to the mainland or to another island, it is called a
tombolo eg. Cape Verde is joined to Cape Verde Peninsular in Senegal. Also, Aberdeen Hill and
Cape Serria Leone (formerly islands) have been joined to Serria Leone.
Mudflat: Also known as tidal flats. They are coastal wetlands that form when mud is deposited
by tides or rivers. They are formed in sheltered areas like bays, lagoons and estuaries.
Factors Affecting Intensity of Erosion
- Force of waves
- Type of rock at the coast
- Extent of coastal protection or exposure
Coastal Management
Although the coastal zone occupies less than 15% of the Earth’s surface, they accomodate more
than 40% of the world population. They are areas of high economic value due to their usefulness
in tourism, port development, and other commercial and industrial activities. However they are
particularly prone to flooding and erosion, and can lead to loss of lives and infrastructures eg.
roads and buildings. Coastal management is therefore aimed at prevention of erosion and
flooding.
Management techniques involve:
- Construction of wave breakers and reinforcements such as building sea walls, use of
wooden barriers, rock armour or boulder materials to absorb/reduce some of the energy,
thus limiting the effect of erosion and flooding.
- Dredging of marine deposits
- Beach reclamation and sand bags ie. sand filling of eroded beaches by importing sand
and shingles
- Tree planting and maintaining natural vegetation to serve as protective cover against
coastal erosion.
- Planned relocation of existing settlements and structures, and avoidance of new ones
around the coastlines.
Assignment: Types of Coasts
Aeolian Processes and Landforms
Aeolian is derived from ‘Aeolus’ ie. the Greek god of wind. Aeolian processes describe wind
erosion, transportation and deposition. These occur mostly in arid and semi-arid environments.
Such areas are characterised by low rainfall, extreme temperature, high evaporation, and little or
no vegetation cover, so they are usually dry and the soils are loose and dusty, as such can easily
be blown away by wind. Aoelian processes also occur occasionally on sea shores.
Erosional Processes
Depending on the wind speed, surface cover and grain size amongst others, wind erosion process
takes place through:
Corrasion or abrasion – Small particles of rocks are hurled by wind against exposed rock
surfaces thus wearing them off. It is most prominent at or near the base of rocks, because that is
where the strength of wind is greatest.
Attrition – Wind-borne particles collide with one another, thereby reducing in size, and
becoming more rounded.
Deflation – Loose fine-grained materials on the ground are blown away by the wind resulting in
lowering of the desert surface to produce depressions or hollows.
Transportational Processes
Traction or creep – Rolling or sliding of large materials along the ground surface.
Saltation – Medium-sized materials are lifted off the ground, then moved and dropped
repeatedly.
Suspension – The smallest particles are moved in the air as long as there is wind to move them
forward.
Erosional Features
Deflation hollow – It is a large depression that is created as loose sandy materials are blown
away when the force of wind is concentrated on a particular area. It could range from a few
meters to hundreds of meters in diameter in depth, and may develop over days or seasons. A
prominent example is the Qattara Depression in Egypt which has a depth of about 200 m below
sea level. If a depression deepens until the water-table is reached, a swamp or an oasis may
develop. An oasis is a depression in the desert that contains water.
Rock pedestal – It is a tower-like or mushroom-shaped irregular feature resulting from wind
abrasion. They are formed from exposed isolated rocks in the desert. Since rocks are usually
made of different hardness, the softer parts are eroded faster. The rocks are undercut as most of
the sand blasting of wind is close to the ground. Continuous erosion at the base may eventually
lead to the collapse of existing rock pedestals.
Yardang and Zeugen – They develop from rock with alternating layers of hard and soft bands.
Due to differential weathering and erosion, the softer rocks are eroded faster than the hard rocks.
Yardangs are long streamlined sculptured rocks forming ridges in the direction of the prevailing
wind. In yardang, the rocks are arranged vertically. The hard rocks form the ridges after the
softer rock is worn to become narrow corridors or furrows. Ridges could be as high as 30 m with
length of up to 1,000 m.
In zeugen, the rocks are arranged horizontally. Mechanical weathering opens up the joints or
cracks on the rock surface. Erosion concentrates in the openings and penetrates into the
underlying layers, and ultimately deep furrows develop with hard rocks forming resistant caps
for the ridges which overhangs or stands above the furrows.
Inselberg – A steep-sided isolated residual hill which rises steeply from the surrounding relief or
desert floor. Erosion has removed all the original surface except for these isolated round- topped
structures. It could originally have been a plateau. Examples can be found in northern Nigeria.
Mesa and Buttes – Meas is a flat topped hill that rises sharply above the surrounding landscape.
The top is usually capped by a rock formation that is more resistant to weathering and erosion.
Denudation may further reduce mesas in an area to become isolated flat-topped hills known as
buttes. Narrow, deep, steep-walled valleys ie. canyons, usually develop in the space between
mesa and butte.
Ventifacts – These rocks have been cut and polished by the wind. They range in size from small
stones to large boulders. New faces develop when wind direction changes.
Dreinkater – Three-faced weathered rock. It is common in Sahara.
Depositional Features
Loess – They are fertile accumulation of fine particles that are deposited by wind. They are
composed mainly of silt. Due to the small size of the particles, they can be carried in suspension
and transported to great distances away from their origin and deposited far from the desert either
on land or in the sea. They are very fertile lands. Examples are Pampas in Argentina and Central
Plains of USA.
Sand dunes – They are heaps or hills of sand which have been accumulated and shaped by wind.
Sand dunes occur in two major forms:
Barchan: They are crescent shaped, having two horns pointing to the direction to which
the wind is blowing. They begin as stationary pile of sand that form behind obstacles (eg.
rock, vegetation) and grow bigger with continuous accumulation of sand. They have
convex gentle slope on the windward side, and concave steep slope on the leeward. They
may reach heights of about 30 m, width of 400 m, and horns of 15 – 30m long. They can
occur singly or in groups. They are common in Sahara.
Longitudinal dunes or seif: They occur in form of narrow, elongated ridges lying parallel
to the prevailing wind. They have steep sides and may attain heights of over 100 m, and
lenghts of about 160 km. The ridges are seperated by flat corridors which are swept clear
of sand. They are found in Algeria, Egypt, Libya, etc.
It should be noted that active sand dune formation also occur in coastal areas when there is a
large supply of beach sand, and strong winds blowing from the sea to shore.
Types of Desert Landscapes
Erg or Sandy: made up of sand and sand dunes
Hamada or rocky: mainly rocks
Reg or stony: mainly pebbles and gravel
Badlands: highly eroded (by wind)
Mountain deserts: associated with highland areas
Glacial Processes and Landforms
Glacier refers to a large body of slowly moving ice formed over a long period of time by the
compaction and recrystallization of snow that accumulate year after year. It may take over a
thousand years. In present times, glacial ice covers about 10% of the Earth’s land surface and
store about 75% of the world’s fresh water.
Types of Glaciers
- Continental glaciers or ice sheets: They form over large portion on the land in areas close
to the poles ie. high latitudes.
- Alpine or mountain glaciers: They are relatively small glaciers that form at high altitudes
ie. mountain tops.
Erosional Processes in Glacial Regions
- Abrasion: wearing away of rock beneath a glacier by the scouring action of the rocks
embedded in the glacier.
- Quarrying or Plucking: tearing away of blocks of rock which have become frozen into the
sides or bottom of a glacier.
Landforms Produced by Erosion
Cirque or corrie: They are steep sided bowl-shaped depresssions formed at the head of a glacial
valley. For most alpine glaciers, cirque is the area where snow first accumulated and was
modified into glacial ice.
Horn or pyramidal peak: It is a steep-sided mountain peak formed when several cirques chisel a
mountain to form three or more sides. When several glaciers flow down in different directions
from a central mountain peak, the steep-walled depressions leave behind an angular, sharp-sided
peak. A prominent example is the Matterhorn in Switzerland.
Arêtes: They are sharp-edged ridge of rock formed in glaciated alpine areas between adjacent
cirques.
Tarn: It is a high altitude lake which fills the cirque when the ice melts after glaciation.
Rouch moutonnee: As glacier moves down the side of a mountain, when ice smoothens the
underlying rock on the advancement side to produce a gentle slope, it may pluck the opposite
side to produce a steep rough slope thus forming an asymmetrical hill or outcrop.
Crag and tail: It consists of a large mass of resistant rock and a gently sloping tail of less resistant
rock on the opposite side. The crag is a residual feature left by erosion of softer rock, while the
tail (ie. on the lee side of the rock) is protected from the erosional power of the glacier by the
crag, and as such appears as an elongated tapered ridge extending downstream.
U-shaped valleys: They are steep-sided, flat-bottomed, wide-valleys. During the ice age, they
were filled with large glaciers, and were formed as a result of erosion of the previous v-shaped
river valleys.
Hanging valley: Tributary glaciers contain less quantity of ice, as such do not erode as deeply as
the main glaciers. While the top of the tributary and the main glacier meet at the same level, their
bottoms do not. After the glacier melts, the bottom of tributary valleys lie far above the main
valley floor. These are called hanging valleys. If a river occupies the hanging valley, it plunges
into the floor of the main valley.
Rock basins: It is an irregular depression on the floor of a u-shaped valley formed by unequal
glacial erosion of the bedrock. Lakes may form inside it.
Striations: Scratches found on surface rock as a result of abrasion.
Ice-eroded plain: An extensive area once covered by an ice sheet which smoothened off the
original landform to plains with large areas of bare rock, scratched by boulders embedded in the
base of the ice.
Transportation and Deposition
Glaciers are not just ice, but they have lots of rock pieces all over them. As glaciers flow over the
years, all sorts of debris fall onto the glacier due to mechanical weathering of the valley walls.
Unlike water, since glaciers are solid, they can carry different sizes of rock pieces easily. These
pieces are carried for many kilometers and deposited only as the ice melts. Materials eroded and
subsequently transported by glacial ice may be deposited as unsorted till materials as the ice
melts, or may be further transported by glacier melt waters and then deposited as fluvioglacial
materials.
Till or Boulder clay – They are unsorted fragments of all sizes of glacial sediments. They
comprise of random mixture of finely crushed rock clay, sand, pebbles and boulders directly
deposited by a glacier.
Erratic boulders – Boulders of a different type of rock from those found locally. They must have
been transported over long distances and deposited by melting ice.
Rock flour – Fine grained rock material produced when a glacier abrades or scrapes the rock
beneath it.
Fluvio-glacier – Layered or stratered materials deposited in layers by melt water. As the ice is
melting, materials are sorted out in the water.
Moraine – General name for a ridge or heap of till that has been dumped by melting ice or
pushed by moving ice. The different types are named based on where it forms ie. their relative
position to the former glacier.
Lateral: They are deposited along the sides of a valley glacier.
Medial: They form where two adjacent glaciers flow into each other. Their lateral moraine is
caught up in the middle of the joined glacier to form medial moraine. They are rare in post
glacial landscapes because they are easily destroyed by rivers flowing along the glacial trough.
Terminal: They are formed at the edge of ice sheets or at the terminus or end of a glacier. It only
builds up when a glacier is stationary. Terminus is the leading edge of a glacier also known as
snout. Terminal moraines form crescent shaped ridges which can be several hundred meters
high. They may act as dams at the edges of cirque basins or glaciated trough.
Recessional: Where there are long pauses in the deglaciation process, a series of recessional
moraines may form. They are often smaller than terminal, and they mark the various stages of
glacial retreat, behind the terminal.
Ground: Sheet of till spread all over the ground behind the terminal ie. at the bottom of the
glacier.
Drumlins – Elongated, oval-shaped low hills of deposited boulder clay. They rarely occur alone.
They are typically wider, higher and steeper in the upstream side. The downstream side is narrow
and gently sloping. They usually occur in large groups called swarms on valley floors in lowland
areas. They are about 1 km long. Valley drumlins are about 5 to 10 m in height, but lowland
drumlins can reach heights of 50 m.
Esker: Long, steep-sided, narrow, winding ridges about 40 m high, can be upto 500 km long. It
is made of layered sand and gravel. It is similar to railway embankments. They are formed inside
or under the ice in tunnels in which melt water streams flowed. Eskers form at right angles to
terminal moraines. However, unlike moraines, they are stratified ie. the materials are in layers.
Kame: An irregular shaped mass of stratified materials formed as a delta on the surface of a
stationary glacier or at its margin.
Outwash plain: They are made of gravel and sand, and are developed outside of the terminal
moraine by melt water. They are areas of sorted sand and gravel deposited at the mouth of melt
water. Coarse materials form the plain nearest to the terminal moraine and the materials get finer
as one moves further from the moraine.
Glacial features
Glaciers are found around the poles and in remote mountainous areas and they play a significant
role in shaping the landscapes in these high latitudes and alpine environments. Some are found
near cities or towns, and as such, sometimes present challenges to people living nearby.
On land, lakes formed on top of a glacier during the melt season may result in flooding.
Glacier may flow across steams or rivers creating a dam that can trap large amount of water eg.
Peru (1941), six thousand people were killed when the dam gave way. Also in Alaska.
Ice avalanche is a large mass of ice which suddenly breaks off glaciers. It could result in loss of
life and property within seconds eg. in Switzerland, 88 workers were killed.
Threat from icebergs could also occur when large mass of icebergs break away from the ice shelf
and drift from the coast into the sea. This constitutes a big threat to shipping routes eg. when the
Titanic sank, 1503 people were killed because the ship collided with an iceberg which reaped a
hole in it.
Shipping routes along the coast of Greenland and around Newfoundland have ice infested waters
which constitute great danger. However, icebergs are now being tracked by satellites and aerial
surveys to forstall these mishaps.
Karst Environment
Karst environment is found in many regions of the world. It is a large area of land comprising of
sedimentary rocks consisting majorly of calcium carbonate. Karst topography is a landscape
formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum.
Limestone is the most common, and it is permeable, but not porous ie. water can pass through
the joints and bedding planes, but not the rock itself. The dissolution of these soluble rocks,
consequently result in the development of some unique surface and underground features.
Major karst regions are Nullarbor Plain (Australia), Dalmation region (Yugoslavia), Kentucky
region (USA), Pennines (Britain), Yucatan Peninsula (Mexico), Southern France, middle Atlas
Mts (Morocco), Mahafaly Plateau (Madagascar), and Kissenger Plateau (South Africa).
Limestone is found in many states in Nigeria, these include Cross river, Ebonyi, Agbaja (Kogi),
Nkalagu (Anambra), Ewekoro (Ogun), Okpella (Edo), Ashaka (Gombe), Bauchi, Abia, Akwa
Ibom, Bayelsa, Bornu, Enugu, Imo, Ondo, and Sokoto. However, they occur in thin belts/layers,
so the typical karst topography do not exist here.
Characteristics of Karst Environment
- Solubility: Effect of rain water on carbon dioxide produces weak carbonic acid which
dissolves the calcium carbonate.
- Presence of depressions having various sizes and depths.
- Absence of surface drainage: streams easily disappear/sink underground due to
permeability of the terrain.
- Absence of thick vegetation cover.
- Outcrops of bare rugged rocks and steep sided dry valleys
- Underground network of caves and streams
Surface Features of Karst Environment
- Limestone pavement: Horizontal surface of exposed limestone in which joints have been
enlarged, cutting the surface into rough rectangular blocks.
- Grike: Enlarged joints formed by continuous widening of cracks and joints by solution.
- Clints: Rectangular blocks of limestone existing between the joints or grikes.
- Sink hole/swallow hole/ponor: Funnel shaped depressions on the surface of a limestone
landscape. They are formed by enlargement of cracks as a result of continuous solvent
action of rain water. They vary in size and depth, and may lead into underground caves.
Rivers may disappear into it. Eg. Gaping Ghyll (Yorkshire, England).
- Doline: Circular or oval shaped shallow depressions on the surface of the ground. They
have gentle sloping sides, and are formed when the roof of an underground cave falls in.
- Uvala: Are formed when several dolines merge.
- Polje: Formed from continuous dissolution of uvala resulting in collapse of cave/sink
holes.
- Limestone gorge: steep-sided and elongated depression formed from the roof of a lengthy
cave collapses eg. Cheddar gorge (England) and Malambolo gorge (Madagascar).
- Resurgence: When the water that sinks into the limestone meets hard rock below, it
travels along the surface of the impermeable rock until it emerges at the surface as a
spring. It is also known as vauclusian springs eg. Silver Spring (Florida, USA).
- Dry valley: Due to easy permeability of the region, there are usually steep sided valleys
with no permanent stream. Some result from the collapse of a subterranean stream which
dries off.
Features of Karst Environment
Underground Features of Karst Environment
- Cave: It is a large chamber/cavity formed underground, when water dissolves the
limestone or dolomite by chemical action. It is linked to the surface by swallow holes.
Larger form of cave is known as cavern. They may occur singly or multiple, thus
becoming elongated eg. Cango Caves in South Africa is 4km long. Caves usually occur
above the water table, and are formed as a result of sinking and flowing of water into the
limestone through lines of weakness and bedding planes. The bottom may contain ponds
or lakes.
- Stalactite: They are precipitates of calcium carbonate in solution that are formed from
water dripping into the cave. They are slender, downward growing pinnacles that hang
from the roof of a cave.
- Stalagmite: They are precipitates of calcium carbonate in solution that are formed in
caves directly below stalactites when water drips from the roof to the floor, therefore they
grow from ground upwards. They are shorter, fatter, and more rounded than stalactites.
- Pillar/column: They are formed in the cave when stalactites and stalagmites grow towards
each other and eventually join together.
Underground Features of Karst Environment
Importance
- Limestone is used as a building material (ie. cement making)
- Limestone is used for smelting of tin & iron
- It is used in glass manufacturing
- It is used in the production of paint, toothpaste, etc.
- Karst topography are source of underground water
- Tourism
Karst Environment
