the boundary between the land and the sea or ocean

area of land between low and storm tide marks made up of beach materials like sand, mud and stones

people travelling to a different place from where they live for a visit or holiday

The UK's coastline

Geography

This unit teaches pupils how physical and human processes shape our coastline. Pupils will also learn about the threats and challenges coastlines face in a warming world.

Coasts: what shapes life at the coast?

A process is an ordered series of actions, events or changes that make something happen.

Erosion is the process of Earth’s surface, e.g. rock or soil, being worn away and transported from its original site.

Deposition is when material such as sand, mud or rocks is dropped by the water that was carrying it.

Transportation is when water moves sand, mud and rocks.

Processes shaping the coastline

the process of Earth’s surface, e.g. rock or soil, being worn away and transported from its original site

landforms are natural features created by processes such as erosion or deposition

the geology of an area is its physical structure and the rocks and minerals that exist there

a measure of the quantity, frequency or speed at which something happens or occurs

Erosional coastal landforms

when material such as sand, mud or rocks is dropped by the water that was carrying it

transportation is when water moves sand, mud and rocks

when the water from a wave retreats back into the sea

material that is moved by water or air and settles in another place

Depositional coastal landforms

Global warming is the increase in Earth's average temperature over a long period of time.

Climate change is a large-scale and long-term change in the planet’s climate, including weather patterns and average temperatures.

Sea level is the average height reached by the sea or an ocean, mesaured between high tide and low tide.

Risk means the possibility that something bad or unpleasant  might happen to either the built or the natural environment.

Threats to the UK's coastline

waves are the movements of energy across water

an area of land between low and storm tide marks made up of materials like sand, mud and stones

Protecting the UK's coastline

building fixed structures to reduce coastal erosion

working with nature to reduce coastal erosion

the possibility that something bad or unpleasant, such as an injury, might happen

a person who has an interest in a given resource

Coastal management

a country that does not share any land borders with other countries

tiny marine organisms that accumulate to form coral reefs in tropical waters

a type of coral reef shaped like a ring with a water body in the middle

the body of water in the middle of an atoll

farming that is done to feed oneself and one’s family, not for profit

Tuvalu: An island nation

large-scale, long-term change in the planet’s climate, including weather patterns and average temperature

the average height reached by the sea or an ocean, measured between high tide and low tide

the height of a geographical feature or location above the mean sea level

to be forced to move due to something outside human control such as flooding

The impacts of climate change on Tuvalu

large-scale and long-term change in the planet’s climate, including weather patterns and average temperatures

something that affects people across the world

Coasts: what shapes life at the coast?

Choose a lesson (10)

These lessons will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.