Landforms formed by waves

Waves and Currents

Coastal processes are the most destructive. Erosion occurs regardless of the season, be it summers or winters. Most coastal changes are made by waves.

•         The continuous impact of the smashing waves has a profound effect on the coast
•         Typhoon waves and tsunami waves can cause major changes in a short period compared to normal crashing waves   Apart from the action of the waves, the topography of the coast depends on:
•       Land and sea configuration.
•      Whether the coast goes forward (emerging) by the sea or recedes (immersion) towards land.                                                                Assuming that the sea level is constant, two types of coastlines are considered to define the concept of coastal fluctuations:
•   Water-soaked coast: A high, rocky shoreline
•   Emerging coast: Low, smooth, and slightly slippery coastline 

Erosional Landforms:

Rocks, Fields, Caves, and Stakes:

1.         Rock-cut cliffs and terraces are the two most common types where erosion is a prominent coastal process.
2.         At the bottom of the ocean floor, there may be a flat or sloping platform covered with debris from a rocky outcrop at the back. Such waves that occur at higher altitudes than the average waves are called wave cut terraces.
3.         The impact of the waves on the bottom of the cliff and the debris of the rocks crashing into the cliffs makes holes in the cliff and these holes are expanded and deepened to form sea caves over million years!
4.         The retreat of the cliffs may leave the remnants of rocks as isolated small islands near the shore. Such masses of resistant rocks, initially part of a cliff or hill, are called sea urchins.
5.         The seafloor is also temporary and eventually, the coastal hills and cliffs will disappear as a result of the erosion of the waves causing coastal plains. 

Depositional Landforms Made by Waves

Beaches:

•         Beaches are a feature of the deposition-controlled coast but can also form patches near rough seas
•         Most of the soil that forms beaches comes from land particles, dirt carried by streams and rivers, or erosion, beaches are a temporary feature.
•         The seemingly endless sandy sea may be reduced to a series of rocky outcrops in some seasons
•         Shingle beaches are beaches that contain small and even boulders

Dunes:

•         Shortly after the shoreline is raised and stretched, sands on the seafloor will be deposited as sand dunes
•         Sand dunes that form long ridges along the coast are more common on low-lying shores

Bars, Obstacles, and Spits:

•         A series of sand and shingle that occur in the ocean in the coastal area (from the bottom line to the sea) lying almost along the coast is called the off-shore bar
•         The coastal bar that is exposed to additional sand is called the barrier bar
•         Coastal barriers and barriers often form on the other side of the river or at the entrance to the harbor
•         The barriers that are connected from the end to the shore are called spit
•         The barriers, bars, and spit in the mouth of the harbor gradually grow into a small port in the sea and this port will eventually become a lagoon
•         The lagoon is later filled with wind-blown sand, and a wide plain grows to replace the lagoon