Cuspate Foreland
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A cuspate foreland is a geographical feature found on coastlines and created by long shore drift. Made out of sand and shingle, and later stabilised by vegetation, cuspate forelands are triangular-shaped and extend seawards.
[edit] Formation
Cuspate Forelands develop mainly as a result of long shore drift that occurs in two directions, merging two spits into a triangular protrusion into the sea by converging the material onto one location.
In normal circumstances, spits are formed when long shore drift moves beach material down the beach until the coastline makes an abrupt change in direction, leading to the beach material 'spilling over' the corner to create a protrusion (for example: this normally occurs across a river mouth). In the case of a cuspate foreland, the prevailing wind and a powerful secondary wind in the opposite direction move shingle down the coastline from both directions to a place where the coastline changes, causing a foreland to develop[1]. The majority of cuspate forelands are formed over a coastline that juts out into the sea at enough of an angle to allow the drifting beach material to 'spill over' as a result of long shore drift in both directions.
In a similar formation to that of salt marshes, the deposited matter is solidified by the encroachment of vegetation, which secures the material and develops the foreland into a solid feature of the coastline[2].
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/sea/pugetsound/bluffs/forms.html
- ^ Advanced Geography, Andy Palmer-Nigel Yates-Philp, Alan Updates 2005
[edit] External links
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