Holderness Coast
Being number one in Europe for coastal erosion does not bring much pleasure to the people who live along the coast of Holderness. In a stormy year, the waves remove between 7 and 10 metres of land along unprotected stretches of coast. The coastline is today some 3-4 kilometres further west than it was in Roman times. Twenty-nine villages have been lost to the sea in the past thousand years. All along the Holderness coast farmers keep losing some of their land. Farmhouses are threatened, caravan sites and holiday homes have already been lost to the sea. The rate of erosion is unlikely to be reduced, because of a combination of land sinking on the eastern side of the British Isles and a possible sea level rise as a result of global warming. Sea levels in Holderness are estimated to be rising by 4 millimetres a year.
Why is the coastline being eroded so quickly? After all, the east coast does not recieve as regular a battering from destructive waves as the west coast and exposed parts of the Channel coast. The main factor is rock type. The boulder clay is made up of soft clay and sands, which are not consolidated (cemented together).
The waves can wash away the clay and sands from between the boulders to leave the unsupported. Also, when in rains, water enters cracks and spaces in the rock; after heavy rain this makes the cliff top unstable and liable to slumping. Most erosion occurs when winds blow from the north or the north-east along this coast because the waves cross a long stretch of open sea (a long fetchg), which increases wave energy for erosion. There are problems in protecting a coastline that stretches for more than 50 kilometres.
Why is the coastline being eroded so quickly? After all, the east coast does not recieve as regular a battering from destructive waves as the west coast and exposed parts of the Channel coast. The main factor is rock type. The boulder clay is made up of soft clay and sands, which are not consolidated (cemented together).
The waves can wash away the clay and sands from between the boulders to leave the unsupported. Also, when in rains, water enters cracks and spaces in the rock; after heavy rain this makes the cliff top unstable and liable to slumping. Most erosion occurs when winds blow from the north or the north-east along this coast because the waves cross a long stretch of open sea (a long fetchg), which increases wave energy for erosion. There are problems in protecting a coastline that stretches for more than 50 kilometres.
Useful Sites
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/a-farm-is-threatened-by-coastal-erosion-at-holderness-east-yorkshire/3189.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/coastal-erosion-at-holderness-east-yorkshire/3187.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/landforms-created-by-longshore-drift-and-coastal-deposition/9965.html
http://www.geography.learnontheinternet.co.uk/topics/holdernesscoast.html
http://www.coolgeography.co.uk/GCSE/AQA/Coastal%20Zone/Coastal%20zone.htm
http://www.geographypages.co.uk/ascoasts.htm
http://www.urbanrim.org.uk/Holderness.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/coastal-erosion-at-holderness-east-yorkshire/3187.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/landforms-created-by-longshore-drift-and-coastal-deposition/9965.html
http://www.geography.learnontheinternet.co.uk/topics/holdernesscoast.html
http://www.coolgeography.co.uk/GCSE/AQA/Coastal%20Zone/Coastal%20zone.htm
http://www.geographypages.co.uk/ascoasts.htm
http://www.urbanrim.org.uk/Holderness.htm