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

Waves and tides

Processes shaping the coastline

Erosional coastal landforms

Depositional coastal landforms

Threats to the UK's coastline

GIS: Visualising and Analysing coastal erosion

Protecting the UK's coastline

Coastal management

Tuvalu: An island nation

The impacts of climate change on Tuvalu

The future of global coasts

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 coastal landscape showing a beach and waves.

Why does the UK have such a long coastline?

What are some reasons why people are attracted to live in coastal areas?

Which of these are part of the tourism industry?

What human features might attract tourists to a coastal resort?

An area showing the sea, a beach and some grassy banks.

A desert showing sandy soils and patchy vegetation.

Which of these landscapes is a coastline?

a physical feature only found at the coast

Some coastlines have cliffs instead of beaches. What is a cliff?

What sort of industries are often based at the coast?

Sea level in coastal areas regularly rises and falls each day. What is this known as?

Wearing away of materials such as rock over a long period of time

Building up of materials in one place over a long period of time

Moving materials along the coast by the sea

Match the coastal processes to the descriptions.

Starter Quiz

Which of these landscapes is a coastline?