What are the three types of plate boundary?

There are three main plate boundaries. At a constructive (divergent) boundary plates move apart and new crust forms, making mid-ocean ridges and gentle volcanoes with mild earthquakes. At a destructive (convergent) boundary plates move together and the denser oceanic plate is subducted, forming explosive volcanoes, powerful earthquakes, trenches and fold mountains. At a conservative (transform) boundary plates slide past each other, causing powerful earthquakes but no volcanoes.

Why do tectonic hazards cause more deaths in poorer countries?

The same-sized hazard usually causes greater impacts in a lower-income country because of weaker, non-earthquake-proof buildings that collapse, infrastructure that fails, less money for monitoring, warnings and emergency services, fast unplanned urban growth, and slower recovery. Richer countries can afford building codes, monitoring, services and rebuilding, so deaths and damage are usually lower.

What is the difference between hard and soft coastal engineering?

Hard engineering uses built structures to control the sea, such as sea walls, groynes, rock armour and gabions; it gives strong, immediate protection but is expensive, unnatural, needs maintenance and can starve beaches elsewhere. Soft engineering works with natural processes, such as beach nourishment, dune regeneration and managed retreat; it is usually cheaper and more sustainable but slower and may mean losing some land.

What is managed retreat?

Managed retreat, or coastal realignment, is a soft-engineering strategy where the sea is allowed to flood low-value land, creating salt marsh that absorbs wave energy and protects the more valuable land behind. It is more sustainable and cheaper than constantly defending a coast, but it means deliberately giving up some land, which can be unpopular with residents.

WalesGeography

Tectonic and Coastal Hazards (Unit 1 Options): a complete overview for WJEC GCSE Geography

Q: What are the Unit 1 Section B options in WJEC GCSE Geography?

Unit 1 has two core themes (Theme 1 and Theme 2) in Section A and two optional themes in Section B, of which students study one. The options are Theme 3, Tectonic Landscapes and Hazards, and Theme 4, Coastal Hazards and their Management. Both are part of the Unit 1 written exam (1 hour 30 minutes, 35 percent) and examined by data response.

A complete overview of the Unit 1 Section B options for WJEC GCSE Geography: Theme 3 Tectonic Landscapes and Hazards (plate tectonics, boundaries, vulnerability and hazard reduction) and Theme 4 Coastal Hazards and their Management (vulnerable coastlines and coastal management).

Generated by Claude Opus 4.814 min read3110-unit-1-themes-3-4Updated 2026-06-15

Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed

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What this covers
Theme 3: tectonic landscapes and hazards
Theme 4: coastal hazards and their management
Check your knowledge

What this covers

The Unit 1 Section B options are studied one at a time: Theme 3, Tectonic Landscapes and Hazards, or Theme 4, Coastal Hazards and their Management. Both sit in the Unit 1 written exam (1-hour 30-minute, 35 percent) and are examined by data response. This overview ties together the tectonic content (processes, boundaries, vulnerability) and the coastal-hazard content (vulnerable coastlines, management).

Theme 3: tectonic landscapes and hazards

The Earth has a layered structure (crust, mantle, core), and the crust is broken into plates moved by convection currents. There are three boundaries: constructive (apart, new crust, mild quakes), destructive (together, subduction, explosive volcanoes and powerful quakes) and conservative (sliding past, powerful quakes, no volcanoes). Earthquakes happen when locked plates suddenly slip, releasing energy from the focus to the epicentre. People live in hazardous areas for fertile soil, geothermal energy and tourism, or because they cannot move. Impacts are usually greater in poorer countries, and risk is reduced by the three Ps: prediction, protection, preparation.

Theme 4: coastal hazards and their management

A coast is vulnerable when it is easily eroded or flooded. Physical factors (weak rock, long fetch, storms, exposure) and human factors (cliff-top building, sediment starvation) raise the risk. Erosion causes cliff retreat and the loss of homes and land, while coastal flooding is rising because of sea-level rise and storm surges. Coasts are managed by hard engineering (sea walls, groynes, rock armour, gabions) and soft engineering (beach nourishment, dune regeneration, managed retreat), each with costs, benefits and sustainability trade-offs, chosen through a shoreline management plan.

The Unit 1 Section B options are Theme 3 (Tectonic Landscapes and Hazards) and Theme 4 (Coastal Hazards and their Management); students study one, in the Unit 1 written exam (1 hour 30 minutes, 35 percent, data response). Theme 3 covers the layered structure of the Earth and plate tectonics, the three boundaries (constructive, destructive, conservative) and their landforms and hazards, why people live in hazardous areas, why impacts differ between richer and poorer countries, and reducing risk through prediction, protection and preparation. Theme 4 covers vulnerable coastlines (physical factors such as weak rock, fetch and storms, and human factors such as cliff-top building and sediment starvation), the threat of erosion and cliff retreat, the rising risk of coastal flooding from sea-level rise and storm surges, and coastal management by hard engineering (sea walls, groynes, rock armour, gabions) and soft engineering (beach nourishment, dune regeneration, managed retreat), with their costs, benefits and sustainability.

Check your knowledge

Name the three types of plate boundary. (3 marks)
What happens at a destructive plate boundary? (3 marks)
What is the difference between the focus and the epicentre? (2 marks)
Give two reasons people live in tectonically active areas. (2 marks)
Why are tectonic impacts often greater in poorer countries? (4 marks)
Name two physical factors that make a coast vulnerable. (2 marks)
Give two methods of hard engineering. (2 marks)
What is managed retreat, and why is it sustainable? (3 marks)

Solutions

Q1: Constructive (divergent), destructive (convergent) and conservative (transform).
Q2: The denser oceanic plate is subducted beneath the lighter continental plate and melts, forming explosive volcanoes, powerful earthquakes and a trench or fold mountains.
Q3: The focus is the point underground where the rocks slip; the epicentre is the point on the surface directly above it.
Q4: Any two: fertile volcanic soil, geothermal energy, minerals, tourism, or because people cannot afford to move.
Q5: Weaker buildings collapse, infrastructure fails, there is less money for monitoring, warnings and emergency services, and fast, unplanned urban growth, so more people die and recovery is slow.
Q6: Any two: weak rock, a long fetch, frequent storms, an exposed coast facing the prevailing wind, low-lying land.
Q7: Any two: sea wall, groynes, rock armour (rip-rap), gabions.
Q8: Letting the sea flood low-value land to create salt marsh that absorbs waves and protects the land behind; it is sustainable because it works with nature and avoids the cost of constant defence.

Sources & how we know this

WJEC GCSE Geography (Wales) specification (3110) — WJEC (2019)