Coastal Deposition
Material that erodes from one coastal area must be deposited somewhere else. Deposition is as much a process of coastal landform development as is erosion. Erosion works with longshore drift to simultaneously sculpt away and build up coastal landscapes. Several distinct landscape features develop because of this process. Roll over each feature in the diagrams to learn more about coastal landscapes.
From the diagram above, which features are erosion features and which ones are deposition features?
The first features are all erosion features. The second landscape shows various deposition features.
Think back to the Old Man of Hoy, the landform you saw in the introduction to this section. What type of landform is it?
It is a sea stack, formed when the roof of a sea arch collapsed.
Where does the sand come from that makes up deposition landforms, such as tombolos and spits?
The sand comes from the erosion of the shoreline. It is eroded from the shoreline and deposited later in a low energy environment, forming features like tombolos, spits, and barrier islands.
