Hornsea is located on the East coast of East Yorkshire. Geologically, the landscape is dominated by deposits of till, boulder clays and glacial lake clays deposited during the last ice age. These well-drained glacial deposits provide fertile soils that support intensive agriculture across the essentially rural and flat landscape, which contains some peat-filled depressions and other glacial features but little woodland, leaving it exposed.

1. Hornsea
Hornseais locateduponthe East coast of East Yorkshire
Geologically, Holderness is underlain by Cretaceous chalk but in
most places it is so deeply buried beneath glacial deposits that it
has no influence on the landscape. The landscape is dominated
by deposits of till, boulder clays and glacial lake clays. These
were deposited during the Devensian glaciation. The glacial
deposits form a more or less continuous lowland plain which has
some peat filled depressions (known locally as meres) which
mark the presence of former lake beds. There are other glacial
landscape features such as drumlin mounds, ridges and kettle
holes scattered throughout the area.
The well drained glacial deposits provide fertile soils that can
support intensive arable cultivation. Fields are generally large
and bounded by drainage ditches. There is very little woodland in
the area and this leads to a landscape that is essentially rural but
very flat and exposed. The coast is subject to rapid marine
erosion.