Beach = landform of coastal deposition that lies between high/low tide levels
○ Mostly formed of sand/shingle/pebbles
○ Beach that forms in a bay → crescent shaped
■ Shape is distorted by LSD → causes it to be narrower updrift than downdrift
Formation of beaches:
● Sandy beaches
○ Found in sheltered bays
○ Low-energy constructive waves transport material onto shore
■ Swash is stronger than backwash
■ Sediment is slowly, constantly being moved up the beach
○ When tide has gone out → more material on beach than before
■ eg/ Sandbanks Beach, Poole (Dorset)
● Pebble beaches
○ Found in exposed beaches
○ High-energy destructive waves → backwash is stronger than swash
■ Pebbles are not moved far up the beach → steep beach profile
○ Storm beach may form when there is stormy weather
■ Waves hurl boulders/large pebbles to the back of the beach
⇒ Characteristics of beaches:
Beach profiles:
● Beach profile = shows the gradient from the back of the beach to the sea
○ Sandy beach → gentle, fairly flat profile
○ Pebble beach → steep, stepped profile
● Berm = terrace on a beach that has formed in the
backshore
○ On broad beaches there may be 3 or more
subparallel berms → each formed under different
wave conditions
○ Formed in calm weather conditions – constructive
waves transport material onto beach
● Winter: berms and sand dunes are eroded by destructive
waves → drag deposits offshore to create an offshore bar
● Spring/summer: constructive waves will rebuild the beach
○ Offshore bar is used by waves to rebuild the
berms
● Diagram of beach profile in the summer →