The effect of human activities on coastal landscapes | Geography

Starter quiz

Which of the statements is an example of an indirect effect of human activity on coastal landscapes?

Clearing of land to build hotels.

Litter left on coastal pathways.

Rise in sea levels. ✓

Use of groynes to protect coastlines.

Factories disposing of waste materials in the sea.
Define longshore drift.

Movement of sediment along the coast by waves approaching the beach at an angle. ✓

Waves eroding the base of a cliff.

Deposition of sediment along the coastline, creating landforms like bars.

Formation of a spit and salt marsh.
Select the word that matches this definition: 'the wearing away and removal of rocks along the coastline'.

deposition

transportation

solution

erosion ✓

weathering
Match the process with the correct definition.

Physical weathering

⇔

Water freezes in cracks, expands, and fractures rocks repeatedly. ✓

Biological weathering

⇔

Living organisms, like roots, break down rocks and minerals. ✓

Chemical weathering

⇔

Alters rocks' minerals through chemical reactions, like acid rain. ✓

Landslide

⇔

Rapid descent of rock and soil down a slope, often triggered by rain. ✓

Rockfall

⇔

Sudden drop of rock from a cliff or steep slope due to gravity. ✓

Slumping

⇔

Rapid downward movement of soil and rock along a curved surface. ✓
Which of these statements describe direct impacts of industry on coastal landscapes?

Industries create jobs for local people in coastal areas.

Industries may discharge pollutants that contaminate coastal water. ✓

Industries may bring more investment into coastal areas by attracting suppliers.

Sea defences protecting industries on the coast alter sediment transportation. ✓

Constructing industries requires natural coastal habitats to be cleared. ✓
The long-term rise in Earth's average temperature due to human activity is known as global ______ and is caused by the enhanced greenhouse effect.

'warming' ✓

Exit quiz

What keyword does this description describe: construction of infrastructure such as roads, houses and tourist areas?

'Development' ✓
Which of these is a term for when beaches further down the coast do not get as much sediment due to sediment transfers being interrupted?

Deposition

Longshore drift

Sediment starvation ✓

Erosion
Which of the following can cause algal blooms in coastal waters?

Litter from tourists.

Recycling from local councils.

High river flow after a period of heavy rain.

Run off of fertilisers from farms. ✓
What does it mean when human activity has an indirect effect on coastal landscapes?

It implies human actions are the sole cause of coastal erosion and flooding.

It means that human activities only harm marine life without affecting coasts.

It indicates that human actions only affect land, not coastal areas.

It means humans protect coastlines by building sea walls.

When humans affect other systems that then go on to have an impact on the coast. ✓

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Lesson Details

Key learning points

A variety of human activities take place at the coast (development, agriculture, industry and coastal management).
Human activities can have direct effects on coastal landscapes.
Human activities can have indirect effects on coastal landscapes.

Common misconception

Indirect effects of human activities are less important than direct effects.

Indirect effects of human activities at the coast have very significant effects: for example, rising sea levels as a result of global warming are an indirect effect with globally important impacts.

Keywords

Development - construction of infrastructure such as roads, houses and tourist areas
Erosion - the wearing away of rocks along the coastline
Habitat - the place where organisms live