The document describes the process of cliff collapse in three steps: soft, impermeable clay cliffs hold rainwater which saturates the clay while the base of the cliff is eroded by the sea, forming a notch; the saturated clay develops a slip plane under the weight of the cliff material; and the cliff then slumps or collapses as a result. It then provides background details on a case study of cliff collapse along the Holderness Coast, noting the area contains high chalk cliffs that are more resistant to erosion than the surrounding boulder clay cliffs.

1. Cliff Collapse

2. The collapse of cliffs can be described in three steps.

3. Soft clay cliffs are impermeable and hold rain water.

4. The sea is attacking/eroding the base of the cliff, causing a wave-cut notch to form. At the same time heavy rainfall causes the soft clay to become saturated, causing a slip plane to form.

5. The weight of the clay causes the cliff to slump or collapse.

6. This results in……

7. CLIFF COLLAPSE

8. Case Study – The Holderness Coast, Holbeck Hall Hotel.

9. At Flamborough Head there is a large amount of chalk in the cliffs. The chalk is much harder than the boulder clay at Filey Bay to the North and Holderness to the South.

10. Background Information The scenery has high cliffs, some of the highest in England which reaches upto 200m high.