AQA Geography GCSE - Coastal Landscapes in the UK - Detailed Notes

Sep 5, 2026

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AQA Geography GCSE coastal unit explaining how waves form and how sea conditions shape coastal features. Notes contrast constructive and destructive waves, linking wave characteristics to depositional or erosional landforms and explaining factors that control wave size such as wind strength, duration, water depth and fetch. The document then details core coastal processes—erosion, weathering, transportation, mass movement and deposition—before expanding on erosional methods like corrasion, abrasion, attrition, hydraulic action and corrosion (solution), plus key landforms including caves, arches, stacks, stumps and wave-cut notches and platforms.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time35 min

AccessFree to download

Coastal Landscapes

Waves and Sea Levels

Coastal Processes and Land Formations

Erosional Processes

Erosional Landforms

Transportation

AQA Geography GCSE # Coastal Landscapes in the UKDetailed Notes ## Coastal Landscapes Waves and Sea Levels Most waves form due to the wind blowing across the surface of the sea.The wind pulls the surface(through friction)and creates ripples that increase in height as they travel towards the beach.Thereare two types of waves which have different characteristics: Constructive waves ·Strong swash,weak backwash ·Low wave height,large wavelength ·Low frequency · Depositional-the waves leavematerial on the beach,and so build upthe material (sand,pebbles,etc)overtime.Powerful&DamagingWaves are closer together(short wavelength)which increases the energy of the wave. DESTRUCTIVE WAVES Destructive waves · Strong backwash,weak swash ·High wave height,small wavelength ·High frequency ·Erosional-the waves erode thebeach and any rocks and take thematerial away to other locations.Overtime,the beach wears away. www.pmt.education 口回f9PMTEducation The size of a wave depends on various factors including: - The strength of the wind -How long the wind has been blowing for -Water depth -The fetch -the distance the waves have travelled from where they originated from The coastlines which are hit by constructive waves tend to have depositional landforms such assandy beaches.This is because the waves are less powerful and deposit material (sand,pebbles,etc)rather than taking it away from the beach. Coastlines that are hit by destructive waves typically have erosional landforms such as rockyheadlands and landforms,such as tall cliffs and caves.Destructive waves tend to have a longfetch and so are the most powerful waves.These coastlines tend to erode away and retreat. ## Coastal Processes and Land Formations There are five coastal processes that you need to know for your exam:erosion,weathering,transportation,mass movement and deposition.Each process can produce several coastalfeatures,which can be found all along the UK coastline. ### Erosional Processes Erosion is the removal anddestruction of rocks and sand alongthe coastline.There are five differenttypes of erosion,but they tend towork together to break down a rockface in their own ways: The five erosion processes are: ● Corrasion - Sand andpebbles are picked up by thesea and hurled against thecliffs at high tide,causing thecliffs to be eroded.Theshape,weight and quantity ofsediment picked up,as wellas the wave speed,affectsthe rate of erosion. ·Abrasion -This is the process where sediment scrapes and bangs against the base of arockface,and so wear away the face gradually(like sandpaper against a piece of wood).The pieces of rock brush past the rockface,rather than being launched against the rockfacein corrasion. PMTEducation ·Attrition -Wave action causes rocks and pebbles to hit against each other,wearingeach other down and so becoming round and eventually smaller.Attrition is an erosiveprocess within the coastal environment,but has little to no effect on erosion of the coastlineitself. ·Hydraulic Action -As a wave crashes onto a rock or cliff face,air is forced into crackswithin the rock.The high pressure causes the cracks to force apart and widen when thewave retreats and the air expands.Over time this causes the rock to fracture. ·Corrosion(Solution)-The mildly acidic seawater can cause alkaline rock such aslimestone to be eroded.This is similar to chemical weathering(later in these notes)wereacid rain dissolves limestone within the rockface. ### Erosional Landforms Caves.Arches.Stacks &Stumps-This sequence occurs on pinnacle headlands. Marine erosion widens cracks in the base ofthe headland,these get bigger over time andcreate a cave. The cave widens and deepens due to bothmarine erosion and sub-aerial processes,and eventually a large hole willform throughto the other side of the headland.This isknown as an arch. The arch continues to widen until it is unable to support itself,the top falls due to its own weightt

FAQs

How do constructive and destructive waves differ, and what landforms do they create?

Constructive waves have strong swash and weak backwash, lower wave height and long wavelength, leading to deposition such as sandy beaches. Destructive waves have strong backwash and weak swash, higher wave height and small wavelength, causing erosion and features like rocky headlands, tall cliffs and caves.

What factors determine the size of waves?

Wave size depends on wind strength, how long the wind has been blowing, water depth, and fetch—the distance waves have travelled from their origin.

What are the five types of erosional process, and what do they do?

The notes list corrasion (sand and pebbles hurled at cliffs), abrasion (sediment scrapes and bangs at cliff bases), attrition (rocks and pebbles knock together and round down), hydraulic action (compressed air forces cracks apart to fracture rock), and corrosion/solution (acidic seawater dissolves rocks like limestone).

How do caves, arches, stacks and stumps form?

Cracks are widened by marine erosion to form a cave; continued erosion and weathering enlarge it into an arch. When the arch becomes unstable, it collapses through mass movement, leaving a stack. Ongoing erosion at the stack’s base eventually collapses it into a stump.

Sep 5, 2026

Upload by Noah