WAVES, BEACHES,

AND COAST
 WAVES
Ocean waves are caused by wind
moving across the surface of the water.
The friction between the air molecules
and the water molecules causes energy
to be transferred from the wind to the
water.
 WATER WAVES

• WAVE HEIGHT: the vertical

distance between the crest (the
high point of a wave) and the
trough (the low point of a wave)
• WAVELENGTH:
the horizontal distance between
two wave crests (or two troughs)
 SURF
• BREAKER: a wave that has become so
steep that the crest of the wave topples
forward, moving faster than the main body of
the wave
• SURF: breaking waves
 WAVE REFRACTION
• WAVE REFRACTION: change in the
direction of waves due to slowing as they
enter shallow water
 Longshore Currents & Rip Currents
• LONGSHORE CURRENTS: a moving
mass of water that develops parallel to a
shoreline
• RIP CURRENTS: narrow currents that flow
straight out to sea in the surf zone, returning
water seaward that breaking waves have
pushed ashore
 BEACHES

• BEACH: a stripe of sediment that extends

from the low-water line inland to a cliff or a zone
of permanent vegetation
• BEACH FACE: the section exposed to wave
action
• MARINE TERRACE: a broad, gently sloping
platform that may be exposed at low tide if the
shore has significant tidal action
• BERM: a wave-deposited sediment platform
that is flat or slopes slightly landward
 Longshore Drift of Sediment
• LONGSHORE DRIFT: the movement of sediment
parallel to shore when waves strike the shoreline at an
angle
• SPIT: a fingerlike ridge of sediment that extends out
into open water
• BAYMOUTH BAR: a ridge of sediment that cuts
a bay off from the ocean which is formed by sediment
migrating across what was earlier an open bay
• TOMBOLO: a bar of sediment connecting a
former island to the mainland
Longshore Drift of Sediment
(cont.)
 Erosional Coasts
• COAST: all the land near the sea
including the beach and a strip of
land inland from it
• HEADLANDS: point of land
along a coast
• COASTAL STRAIGHTENING:
the gradual straightening of an
irregular shoreline by wave erosion
of headlands and wave deposition
in bays
 Erosional Coasts (cont.)
• SEA CLIFFS: steep slopes that retreat inland by mass wasting as
wave erosion undercuts them
• WAVE-CUT PLATFORM: a horizontal bench of rock formed
beneath the surf zone as a coast retreats by wave erosion
• STACKS: erosional remnants of headlands left behind as the
coast retreats inland
• ARCHES: bridges of rock left above openings eroded in headlands
or stacks by waves
 Erosional Coasts (cont.)

A C

B D
 Depositional Coasts
• BARRIER ISLANDS: ridges of sand that parallel the
shoreline and extend above sea level

A barrier island near Pensacola, Florida

 Drowned Coasts
Drowned Coasts
• ESTUARY: drowned river mouth
• FIORD : glacially cut valleys flooded by
rising sea level

An estuary formed as rising sea level drowned a river valley,

Malibu, California
 Uplifted Coasts
• Uplifted coasts have been elevated by deep-
seated tectonic forces. The land has risen
faster than sea level, so parts of the old sea
floor are now dry land.

Uplifted marine terrace, northern California. The flat land surface at the top of the sea cliff was eroded by wave action,
then raised above sea level by tectonic uplift. The rock knob on the terrace was once a stack
DESERTS AND
WIND ACTION
Deserts
• desert: any region with low rainfall

World distribution of nonpolar deserts. Most deserts lie in two bands near 30o N and 30oS.
Distribution of Deserts
• the location of most deserts is related to
descending air - the equator receives the
sun’s heat more directly than the rest of the
earth, the air warms and rises then moves
both northward and southward to sink near
30oN and 30oS
 Distribution of Deserts (cont.)
• rain shadow: deserts resulting from mountain
ranges - moist air is forced up to pass over a
mountain range, it expands and cools, losing
moisture as it rises, dry air coming down on
the other side of the mountain compresses
and warms, bringing high evaporation with
little or no rainfall to the downwind side of the
range
Distribution of Deserts (cont.)
• great distance from the ocean: since most rainfall comes from
water evaporated from the sea, a great distance from the ocean
is another factor that can create deserts
Characteristics of Deserts
• lack through-flowing streams
• internal drainage - the streams drain toward
landlocked basins instead of toward the sea
• flash floods - because of the lack of
vegetation, heavy rainfall runs rapidly over the
surface and can create sudden local floods of
high discharge
Characteristics of Deserts (cont.)
• arroys or dry washes: channels created by the
rapid downcutting by sediment-laden
floodwaters which tend to produce narrow
canyons with vertical walls and flat, gravel-
strewn floors
Desert Landforms
• plateaus: a broad, flat-topped area elevated
above the surrounding land and bounded, at
least in part, by cliffs
• mesa: a broad, flat-topped hill bounded by cliffs
and capped with a resistant rock layer
• butte: a narrow hill of resistant rock with a flat
top and very steep sides
Desert Landforms (cont.)
• monocline: bends in rock layers
• hogback: a sharp ridge that has steep slopes
• cuesta: a gently tilted resistant layer with one
steep side and one gently sloping side
Desert Landforms (cont.)
• playa lake: a shallow temporary lake (following a rainstorm)on a
flat valley floor in a dry region
• playa: a very flat surface underlain by hard, mud-cracked clay
• bajada: a broad gently-sloping depositional surface formed by the
coalescing of individual alluvial fans
• pediment: a gently sloping surface, commonly covered with a
veneer of gravel, cut into the solid rock of the mountain
Wind Action
• wind can be an important agent of erosion and
deposition in any climate, as long as sediment
particles are loose and dry
• wind differs from running water in two ways:
• because air is less dense than water, wind can erode
only fine sediment - sand, silt and clay
• wind is not confined to channels as running water is,
so water can have a widespread effect over vast
areas
Wind Erosion and Transportation
• dust storms: when loose silt and clay are easily
picked up from barren dry soil, such as in a
cultivated field - silt and clay can remain
suspended in turbulent air for a long time, so a
strong wind may carry a dust cloud hundreds of
meters upward and hundreds of kilometers
horizontally

An approaching dust storm in Prowers Country, Colorado (1930s)

Wind Erosion and Transportation (cont.)
• volcanic ash: ash from a volcanic eruption that
can be carried by wind for a very great distance -
the ash can be caught in high altitude jet streams
which have been known to carry ash as far as 3,
000 miles
• jet stream: a narrow belt of strong winds with
velocities sometimes greater than 200 mph
• saltation: a mode of transportation that carries
sediment down current in a series of short leaps
or bounces
Wind Erosion and Transportation (cont.)
• sandstorms: clouds of sand moving rapidly near
the land surface
• ventifacts: rocks with flat, wind-abraded surfaces

Ventifacts eroded by blowing sand

Wind erosion near the ground has sandblasted the lower 3 ft.
of this basalt outcrop, Death Valley, CA. (Hammer for scale)
Deflation
• deflation: the removal of clay, silt, and sand
particles from the land surface by wind
• blowout: a depression on the land surface
caused by wind erosion
• pillar: erosional remnant of the former land
that may be left at the center of a blowout
Deflation by wind erosion can form a blowout in loose,
dry sediment. Deflation stops at the water table. A pillar, or
erosional remnant, may be found in the center of a blwout

Large blowout near Harrison, Nebr.

Wind Deposition
• loess: a deposit of wind-blown silt and clay
composed of unweathered, angular grains of
quartz, feldspar, and other minerals weakly
cemented by calcite - have a high porosity,
typically near 60%

Definite
Possible or
Vertical road cuts in loess - Vicksburg, Mississippi
probable

Major loess-covered areas in the world

Sand Dunes
• sand dunes: mounds of loose sand grains heaped up by the
wind, most likely to develop in areas with strong winds that
generally blow in the same direction
• sand grains found in dunes are commonly well-sorted and well-
rounded because wind is very selective as it moves sediment
Sand Dunes (cont.)
• slip face: the steep downwind slope of a dune
• wind ripples: small, low ridges of sand produced
by saltation of the grains

Wind ripples on sand surface - Monument Valley, Utah

Types of Dunes
• barchan: a crescent-shaped dune with a steep slip face on the
inward or concave side which is formed where the sand supply
is limited

Barchans
These barchan dunes are advancing as much as 50 ft.
A year over this barren valley floor in southern CA
Types of Dunes (cont.)
• transverse dune: a relatively straight, elongate dune oriented
perpendicular to the wind direction

Transverse dunes

Transverse dunes, Oregon

Types of Dunes (cont.)
• parabolic dune: somewhat similar in shape to a barchan dune,
except that it is deeply curved and is convex in the downwind
direction

Parabolic dunes
Parabolic dunes near Pismo Beach, central California.
Wind blows from left to right. The ocean and a sand
beach are just to the left of the photo
Types of Dunes (cont.)
• longitudinal dune: one of the largest types of dunes which is a
symmetrical ridge of sand that forms parallel to the prevailing
wind direction

Longitudinal dunes

Longitudinal dunes in the Sahara Desert, Algeria.

Photo from Gemini spacecraft at an altitude of
about 65 miles
Glaciers and
Glaciation
Glaciers
• glacier: a large, long-lasting mass of ice,
formed on land that moves under the influence
of gravity and its own weight
• alpine glaciation: found in mountainous
regions
• continental glaciation: exists where a large
part of a continent is covered by glacial ice
The Theory of Glacial Ages
• theory of glacial ages: states that at times in
the past, colder climates prevailed during
which much more of the land surface of the
earth was glaciated than at present
• because the last episode of glaciation was at
its peak only about 18,000 years ago, its
record has remained largely undestroyed by
subsequent erosion and so provides abundant
evidence to support the theory
Distribution of Glaciers
• glaciation is most extensive in polar regions,
where little melting takes place at any time of
year
• presently one-tenth of the land surface is
covered by glaciers (compared with about
one-third during the peak of the glacial ages)
• approximately 85% of the present-day glacier
ice is on the Antarctic continent, 10% is in
Greenland
Types of Glaciers
• valley glacier: a glacier that is confined to a
valley and flows from a higher to a lower
elevation; like streams, small valley glaciers
may be tributaries to a larger trunk system

Valley glacier on the flanks of Mount Logan, Canada’s highest mountain

Types of Glaciers (cont.)
• ice sheet: a mass of ice that is not restricted
to a valley but covers a large area of land (over
50,000 square km); Greenland and Antarctica
are the only two places on earth to now have
ice sheets
• ice cap: a glacier covering a relatively small
area of land but not restricted to a valley

Diagrammatic cross section of an ice sheet. Vertical scale is highly exaggerated

Formation and Growth of Glaciers
• A new snowfall may be in the form of light
“powder snow,” which consists mostly of air
trapped between many six-pointed snowflakes.
In a short time the snowflakes settle by
compaction under their own weight and much
of the air between them is driven out. This
eventually forms glacier ice.
Formation and Growth of Glaciers (cont.)
• ablation\wasted: under the influence of gravity,
glacier ice moves downward and is eventually
lost or wasted
• icebergs: a block of glacier-derived ice
floating in water
Glacial Budgets
• if, over a period of time, the amount of snow a
glacier gains is greater than the amount of ice and
water it loses, the glacier’s budget is positive if it
expands, if the opposite occurs the glacier’s
budget is negative
• advancing glaciers: glaciers with positive budgets
that push outward and downward at their edges
• receding glaciers: glaciers with negative budgets
that grow smaller and their edges melt back
Glacial Budgets (cont.)
• zone of accumulation: the upper part of the glacier with
a perennial snow cover
• zone of wastage: the lower part of the glacier where ice
is lost, or wasted, by melting, evaporation, and calving
• snow line: the boundary between these two altitudinal
zones of a glacier is an irregular line; marks the highest
point at which the glacier’s winter snow cover is lost
during a melt season
• terminus: the lower edge of a glacier which moves
farther downvalley when a valley glacier has a positive
budget
Glacial Budgets (cont.)

A valley glacier as it would appear at the end of a melt season. Below the snow line, glacier ice
and snow have been lost during the melting season. In the zone of accumulation above that line,
firm is added to the glacier from the previous winter fall.
Movement of Valley Glaciers
• valley glaciers move downslope under the
influence of gravity and their own weight, the
rate being variable, ranging from less than a
few millimeters a day to more than 15 meters
a day
• glaciers in temperate climates - where the
temperature is at or near the melting point for
ice - tend to move faster than those in colder
regions - where the ice temperature stays well
below freezing
Movement of Valley Glaciers (cont.)
• basal sliding: the sliding of the glacier as a single body over the
underlying rock
• plastic flow: movement that occurs within the glacier due to the
plastic or “deformable” nature of the ice itself
• rigid zone: the upper part of the glacier
Movement of Valley Glaciers (cont.)

Movement of a glacier. Markers on the glacier indicate the center of the glacier moves
faster than its side. Cross-sectional view shows movement within the glacier.
Crevasses
• crevasses: open fissures in a glacier caused when
the glacier passes over a steep part of the valley
floor and moves faster than the upper part of the
ridge zone of ice which cannot stretch to move as
rapidly as the underlying ice. Being brittle, the ice
of the rigid zone is broken by the tensional forces
Glacial Erosion
• faceted: given a flat surface by abrasion
• striations: scratches in the rock in the direction
of ice movement
• rock flour: a powder of fine fragments
produced by the grinding of rock across rock

A striated bed rock surface in South Australia

Glacial Valleys
• u-shaped valley: characteristic cross-profile of a valley
carved by glacial erosion
• hanging valley: a smaller valley that terminates
abruptly high above a main valley
• truncated spurs: ridges that have triangular facets
produced by glacial erosion at their lower ends
• rock-basin lakes (tarns): a lake occupying a
depression caused by glacial erosion of bedrock
Cirques, Horns, and Ar tes
• cirque: a steep-sided, half-bowl shaped recess
carved into a mountain at the head of a glacial
valley
• horn: the sharp peak that remains after cirques
have cut back into a mountain on several sides
• ar te: sharp ridges that separate adjacent glacially
carved valleys
Glacial Deposition
• till: the unsorted and unlayered rock debris
carried or deposited by a glacier
• erratic: an ice-transported boulder that has not
been derived from the nearby bedrock

Till transported on top of and alongside a glacier in Peru

Moraines
• moraines: a body of till either being carried on a
glacier or left behind after a glacier has receded
• lateral moraines: elongate mounds of till which form
along the sides of a valley glacier
• medial moraine: a single long ridge of till on a glacier,
formed by adjacent lateral moraines joining and being
carried downglacier
• end moraine: a ridge of till piled up along the front
edge of a glacier
• ground moraine: a blanket of till deposited by a glacier
or released as glacier ice melted
Moraines (cont.)
Outwash
• outwash: the material deposited by the debris-
laden meltwater
• drumlins: bodies of till shaped into streamlined
hills
• esker: a long, sinuous ridge of water-deposited
sediment
• kettle: a depression caused by the melting of a
stagnant block of ice that was surrounded by
sediment

Drumlin in New York state An esker in northeastern Washington

Continental Glaciated Terrain

Drumlin in New York state An esker in northeastern Washington

Glacial Lakes and Varves
• Varve: two thin layers of sediment, one dark
and the other light in color, representing one
year’s deposition in a lake

Varves from a former glacial lake. Each pair of light and dark
layers represents a year’s deposition. Gradations on ruler are
centimeters
Indirect Effects of Past
Glaciation
• pluvial lakes: a lake formed during an earlier
time of abundant rainfall
• fiord: a costal inlet that is a drowned glacially
carved valley
• tillite: lithified till (evidence of older glaciation
comes from rocks called tillites)

A fiord in Alaska