Holderness Coast Yorkshire - Edexcel AS Geography Unit 2

The Holderness coast lies next to the North Sea, stretching between the Flamborough Head in the North and Spurn Head in the South. It is the fastest eroding coast in Europe. Most of the coastline consists of cliffs until it meets the Humber estuary at Spurn Point. The area is mainly made up of soft boulder clay and is therefore easily eroded by waves. 1.5m tonnes is carried away by the sea each year. 4km has been lost since Roman times.

Erosion is a problem because of geology, the fetch and longshore drift.

Geology:

The Holderness coast has two rock types; chalk and boulder clay. The chalk at Flamborough Head is fairly resistant and produces features such as cliffs, caves, arches and stacks. The rest of the coast is boulder clay which has little resistance to…