Human Activity & Coastal Landscapes (Edexcel GCSE Geography B): Revision Note

Human Activity & Coastal Landscapes

• Many human activities take place on the coast

• The effects of these may be:

  • Direct or indirect

  • Positive or negative

Table of Impacts on Coasts

Case Study – The Holderness Coast

• The Holderness Coastline is located on the East Coast of Yorkshire

  • From Flamborough Head in the north down to Spurn Head (61km), where it meets the Humber Estuary 

• It is the fastest eroding coastline in Europe at 2 m per year

• The rock type is mainly soft boulder clay 

  • Easily eroded and vulnerable to slumping

• The coastline has naturally narrow beaches, which give less protection as wave power is not reduced

• Longshore drift is the dominant process due to North Sea waves

• Waves along the coastline have a long fetch, which increases wave energy

• The biggest issue of the Holderness coastline is that it is retreating too quickly

Human activity

• Bridlington is protected by a 4.7 km long sea wall

• Gabions have been built at Skipsea

• Hornsea is a popular tourist destination where the cliffs are formed from soft boulder clay.

• It has several sea defences, including:

  • Wooden groynes at a cost of £5.2 m

  • Concrete sea wall

  • Stone and steel gabions, along with a concrete revetment have been built south of Hornsea, helping to protect the caravan park

• At Mappleton, riprap at a cost of £2 m, groynes and beach nourishment help to maintain a sandy beach

• Withernsea has a sea wall, groynes, riprap and beach nourishment in an effort to widen the beach and so reduce wave energy

• 2.25% of all UK gas comes through the gas terminal at Easington and £4.5 m was spent on riprap, but the scheme protects the terminal and not the village

• Spurn Head is protected with groynes and rock armour

Coastal changes

• Due to the use of groynes at Mappleton, sediment has been prevented from moving south, which has increased erosion at Great Cowden 

• Erosion has destroyed farms along with the loss of 100 chalets at the Golden Sands Holiday Park

• Spurn Head is at risk of losing habitats due to a lack of sediment to maintain the spit