Coasts - Protecting the Coast

1. Coastal erosion is the wearing away of the land by the wind and the waves.

2. The coast needs protecting from the impact they can have.

3. It is a real problem along beaches and shorelines and can result in whole towns and villages disappearing.

4. It is especially worrying in areas with soft clay cliffs and powerful waves.

5. A variety of methods can be used to protect the coast.

6. In some areas where land-slips are common, fibreglass or plastic netting is laid over the soil.

7. Sea walls are a form of coastal defence that reduces the effect of strong waves.

8. They are mainly used to protect coastal towns, acting as a buffer between the coastline and the sea.

9. Sea walls may be made from a range of materials such as brick, stone, concrete and boulders.

10. They can be expensive to build, but, over time, wave action does damage them.

11. Sea walls themselves can be protected at the bottom by rock armour.

12. Rock armour is large boulders, usually granite or limestone, used to prevent erosion by the sea.

13. The rocks break up and block much of the force of the waves.

14. The gaps between the rocks slow the flow of the water down and reduce the amount of damage it can do.

15. Rock armour can also help to support the cliffs or hills at the back of the shoreline.

16. The weight of the rocks can help prevent the earth behind from sliding forward.

17. Groynes are designed to help create and maintain beaches and reduce erosion.

18. They are structures that can be made from wood, rock, stone or even railway sleepers.

19. Groynes are cheap to build and easy to maintain.

20. They are built into beaches and interrupt the water’s flow, helping to prevent erosion.

21. Working like walls on beaches, they also help hold the sand in place and reduce the amount that is washed or blown away.

22. A breakwater is another method used to protect the coast.

23. Breakwaters are strong walls, normally made of stone or brick, constructed out to sea

24. One end is attached to the coast, in order to protect a beach or a harbour.

25. The breakwater takes the full force of the sea.

26. It reduces the height and strength of the waves which hit the harbour or beach.

27. This protects the shipping in the harbour and reduces erosion on the beach.

28. Some areas prefer to protect their coastline by using natural coastal defences such as salt marshes and beaches.

29. These are able to absorb the energy of the waves.

30. Sand may be brought to a beach and piled on top of the existing sand.

31. Vegetation can also be planted on dunes which have formed at the back of the shore, to trap sand and hold it in place.

32. These methods are often preferred as a way of protecting the coast because they are less costly than building coastal defences.