Describe the key features of a typical erosional coast and a typical depositional coast
What will be an ideal response?
Erosional coastlines tend to be rugged, of high relief, and are tectonically active.
Common erosional features include:
sea cliffs: formed by the undercutting actions of the sea. As indentions slowly grow at water level, a sea cliff will become notched and eventually collapse. Along these areas will also see sea caves and sea arches. If an arch collapses, it may leave an isolated sea stack.
A wave-cut platform (wave-cut terrace) occur when wave action cuts a horizontal bench in the tidal zone, extending from the foot of a sea cliff into the sea. If in an area where sea level has changed over time, multiple terraces may rise from the coast.
Common depositional features include:
Barrier spits consist of deposited material in a long ridge extending out from a coast. If the spit grows to completely cut off a bay from the ocean, it becomes a bar barrier (baymouth bar). The inland, shallow, saltwater body is a lagoon.
A tombolo occurs when sediment deposits connects the shoreline with an offshore island or sea stack.
A beach is a relatively narrow strop along a coast where sediment is reworked.
Barrier beaches are long, narrow depositional features that form offshore. When they widen, they become barrier islands.
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