The Holderness Coastline is in the North of England and runs between the Humber Estuary in the south and a headland at Flamborough head. It has the unenviable reputation as the number one place in Europe for coastal erosion, and in a stormy year waves from the North sea can remove between 7 and 10m of coastline.

Advantages – Protects the base of cliffs, land and buildings against erosion. Can prevent coastal flooding in some areas. Disadvantages = Expensive to build. Curved sea walls reflect the energy of the waves back to the sea.

High-energy coasts are those that are exposed to strong, steady, zonal winds and fronts with high wave energies in the lee of highlatitude storm waves and low latitude swells (Davies, 1973), unprotected by shallow offshore topography, and receive the highest energy.

Saltburn to Flamborough Head, Yorkshire is a high-energy coastal environment. It displays rocky, upland areas, which spreads across 60km of the coastline which reflect the influence of the high energy waves it obtains, displaying multiple coastal landforms and characteristics.

These systems may be ​terrestrial, atmospheric or oceanic​and can include the ​rock, water and carbon cycles​. Coasts can be split into sections called ​sediment cells ​which are often bordered by ​prominent headlands​.

The key factors which affect coastlines are:

• The rock type/geology (see map below).
• The fetch of the wave and the strength of the wind.
• The angle of the slope – steep slopes erode more violently and frequently.
• Weather conditions – freezing temperatures and heavy rain increase weathering and the rate of erosion.

The type of wave – the amount of energy a wave has helps determine the rate of erosion….Three key processes take place in the coastal zone:

• Erosion – waves can erode the coastline in a similar way to the water in rivers.
• Transportation – the movement of eroded material up and down, and along the coast.

Headlands and bays are created where there are bands of hard and soft rock which meet the coastline at right angles.

Constructive waves build beaches. These waves are more common in summer than in winter. Constructive waves predominate in calmer weather conditions when less energy is being transferred to the water. Each wave is low.

Metamorphic rocks have been subjected to tremendous heat and/or pressure, causing them to change into another type of rock. They are usually resistant to weathering and erosion and are therefore very hard-wearing.