The Holderness Coast in eastern England is eroding rapidly, losing an average of 2 meters per year to the North Sea. Over the past 6,000 years, more than 30 villages have been lost to coastal erosion as waves batter the soft boulder clay cliffs. The cliffs are prone to collapse as rainwater enters cracks and causes the clay material to slump down onto narrow beaches that offer little protection from wave energy due to longshore drift carrying away sediment. Various erosional processes such as wetting and drying of cliffs, storm waves attacking the shoreline, and longshore drift reducing beach size threaten the remaining villages along the Holderness Coast.

1. HoldernessAS Geography

2. Lesson ObjectivesLearn about the issues facing the Holderness CoastAppreciate the nature of the issues and analyse the processes at workDistinguish between the erosional processes and depositional processes that are at work

3. Where is HoldernessThe Holderness Coast is located on the east coast of England. It extends 61km from Flamborough in the north to Spurn Point in the south.

4. What issues face Holderness?Holderness Coast is fastest eroding stretch of coastline in Europe – an average of 2 metres fall into the North Sea each yearLocally, rates of erosion have been up to 10-20m with waves biting coast awayOver 30 villages have been lost since Roman times, erosion has been taking place for last 6000 yrs

5. Holderness VideoYou are to watch the following video and try to answer the following questions

6. High energy waves because of long fetchChunks of coast slump down the cliffSoft boulder clayThin, narrow beaches do little to absorb wave energyHolbeck Hall, ScarboroughWhy are the beaches thin and narrow?The beaches are thin because the material is carried away by longshore drift

7. Holderness Coast – Cliff ProcessesRain water enters cracksCracks formed by wetting and dryingBoulder Clay CliffMaterial slumps down the cliffRemoval of slumped material by seaSeaSlip plane developingBeach

8. Mappleton and Holderness Coast

9. Turn to page 105Answer question 1 by reading the case study in the book and complete for homework.Write a full case study of no more than one side of A4.