How do waves and coastal processes create distinctive coastal landscapes?
Key Idea 1.2 (coasts): the processes that operate along a coastline (weathering, mass movement, erosion, transportation and deposition), constructive and destructive waves and longshore drift, and the formation of distinctive coastal landforms of erosion (headlands, bays, caves, arches, stacks) and deposition (beaches, spits and bars).
A focused answer on coastal landscapes for WJEC GCSE Geography Unit 1 (Key Idea 1.2): weathering, mass movement, erosion, transportation and deposition, constructive and destructive waves, longshore drift, and the formation of erosional landforms and depositional landforms.
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What this dot point is asking
This dot point covers the coastal part of Key Idea 1.2 in WJEC Unit 1. You need the processes along a coast (weathering, mass movement, erosion, transportation, deposition), the difference between constructive and destructive waves, longshore drift, and the formation of landforms of erosion (headlands, bays, caves, arches, stacks) and deposition (beaches, spits, bars). Expect OS map, photograph and diagram work.
Coastal processes
Waves and longshore drift
Landforms of erosion
Landforms of deposition
Try this
Q1. What is longshore drift? [Knowledge recall]
- Cue. The zig-zag movement of sediment along a coast, as the swash carries it up the beach at the angle of the wind and the backwash pulls it straight back down under gravity.
Q2. Explain how a headland and bay form on a coast with bands of hard and soft rock. [Short explanation]
- Cue. The softer rock is eroded faster by hydraulic action and abrasion to form sheltered bays, while the more resistant hard rock is worn away more slowly and is left jutting out into the sea as a headland.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of WJEC exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
WJEC Unit 1 (Theme 1)4 marksDescribe the differences between constructive and destructive waves.Show worked answer →
A short data-response describe question. Reward clear, contrasting features of each wave type.
Constructive waves. Low waves with a long wavelength, a strong swash and a weak backwash, so they build up the beach by depositing sediment. They are common in calm conditions.
Destructive waves. High, steep waves with a short wavelength, a weak swash and a strong backwash, so they drag material off the beach and erode the coast. They are common in storms.
Top marks. A clear contrast in swash, backwash and effect on the beach.
WJEC Unit 1 (Theme 1)6 marksExplain how headlands, caves, arches and stacks are formed.Show worked answer →
A short explain question (levels marking). Reward an ordered sequence using named processes; a diagram helps.
Headlands and bays. Where bands of hard and soft rock meet the coast, the soft rock erodes faster to form bays, leaving the hard rock jutting out as headlands. This is differential erosion.
Cave to stack. On a headland, waves attack lines of weakness by hydraulic action and abrasion to open a cave. The cave is widened until it breaks through to form an arch. The arch roof is undercut and collapses, leaving an isolated pillar called a stack, which later erodes to a stump.
Top band. A clear sequence (crack, cave, arch, stack, stump) with named erosion processes.
Related dot points
- Key Idea 1.1: the distinctive landscapes of Wales and the UK, what makes a landscape distinctive, the location and characteristics of upland, lowland and glaciated landscapes, and the physical and human factors that shape them, using maps, photographs and OS map skills.
A focused answer on Key Idea 1.1 for WJEC GCSE Geography Unit 1: what makes a landscape distinctive, the location and features of upland, lowland and glaciated landscapes in Wales and the UK, and the physical and human factors that shape them, with OS map skills.
- Key Idea 1.2 (rivers): the processes that operate in a river landscape (erosion, transportation and deposition), how the long profile and cross profile change downstream, and the formation of distinctive fluvial landforms such as waterfalls, meanders, ox-bow lakes and floodplains.
A focused answer on river landscapes for WJEC GCSE Geography Unit 1 (Key Idea 1.2): the processes of erosion, transportation and deposition, the changing long and cross profile downstream, and the formation of waterfalls, meanders, ox-bow lakes and floodplains.
- Key Idea 1.3: the drainage basins of Wales and the UK, the drainage basin as an open system (inputs, stores, flows and outputs), the storm hydrograph and the factors affecting it, the physical and human causes of river flooding, and the hard and soft engineering used to manage flooding.
A focused answer on Key Idea 1.3 for WJEC GCSE Geography Unit 1: the drainage basin as an open system, the storm hydrograph and the factors affecting it, the physical and human causes of river flooding, and the hard and soft engineering used to manage it.
- Key Idea 4.1 (Theme 4): vulnerable coastlines, the physical and human factors that make a coast vulnerable to erosion and flooding, the threat of coastal erosion and retreat (for example soft cliffs), and the increasing risk of coastal flooding from storm surges and sea-level rise.
A focused answer on Key Idea 4.1 for WJEC GCSE Geography Unit 1 (Theme 4): the physical and human factors that make a coast vulnerable, the threat of coastal erosion and cliff retreat, and the rising risk of coastal flooding from storm surges and sea-level rise.
- Key Idea 4.2 (Theme 4): managing coastal hazards, the use of hard engineering (sea walls, groynes, rock armour, gabions) and soft engineering (beach nourishment, managed retreat, dune regeneration), and the costs, benefits and sustainability of different coastal management strategies.
A focused answer on Key Idea 4.2 for WJEC GCSE Geography Unit 1 (Theme 4): hard engineering (sea walls, groynes, rock armour, gabions) and soft engineering (beach nourishment, managed retreat, dune regeneration), and the costs, benefits and sustainability of coastal management.
Sources & how we know this
- WJEC GCSE Geography (Wales) specification (3110) — WJEC (2019)