Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
A stack or sea stack is a geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast, formed by wave erosion. [1] Stacks are formed over time by wind and water, processes of coastal geomorphology. [2] They are formed when part of a headland is eroded by hydraulic action, which is the force of ...
Raised beach – Emergent coastal landform; Rapids – River section with increased velocity and turbulence; Ravine – Small valley, often due to stream erosion; Ria – Coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley; Ridge – Long, narrow, elevated landform; Riffle – Shallow landform in a flowing channel
Coastal erosion may be caused by hydraulic action, abrasion, impact and corrosion by wind and water, and other forces, natural or unnatural. [3] On non-rocky coasts, coastal erosion results in rock formations in areas where the coastline contains rock layers or fracture zones with varying resistance to erosion.
Collapsed Ordovician limestone bank showing coastal erosion.NW Osmussaar, Estonia.. Coastal geography is the study of the constantly changing region between the ocean and the land, incorporating both the physical geography (i.e. coastal geomorphology, climatology and oceanography) and the human geography (sociology and history) of the coast.
A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape. [1] Headlands are characterised by high, breaking waves, rocky shores, intense erosion, and steep sea cliff.
A natural arch, natural bridge, or (less commonly) rock arch is a natural landform where an arch has formed with an opening underneath. Natural arches commonly form where inland cliffs, coastal cliffs, fins or stacks are subject to erosion from the sea, rivers or weathering (subaerial processes).
A marine terrace represents the former shoreline of a sea or ocean. It can be formed by marine abrasion or erosion of materials comprising the shoreline (marine-cut terraces or wave-cut platforms); the accumulations of sediments in the shallow-water to slightly emerged coastal environments (marine-built terraces or raised beach); or the bioconstruction by coral reefs and accumulation of reef ...
Furthermore, shore platforms are formed by denudation and marine-built terraces arise from accumulations of materials removed by shore erosion. [2] Thus, a marine terrace can be formed by both erosion and accumulation. However, there is an ongoing debate about the roles of wave erosion and weathering in the formation of shore platforms.