Windows On Our World in assocation with the Royal Geographical Society

Climate and Weather

Coastal Landscapes

Satellites, Maps and Air

Transport

User Spaces

Coastal Landscapes

Back Up

Beach & Coastal Erosion at Weybourne, Norfolk

Brighton Coastal Views

Cambrian Coast

Cape Cornwall

Carrick Roads, Cornwall

Cley Beach Views and Re-Development

Cornish Coast Case Study

Dawlish Sea Wall

Falmouth Harbour

Happisburgh Town and Coast

Holkham, North Norfolk

Loe Bar

Minack Theatre

Mullion Cove, Cornwall

Mundesley Beach

North Wales Coastal Pictures

Porthleven

San Francisco Beach Views

Whitstable, Kent

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About these Images

The coastline is the zone of interaction where land meets sea or ocean. Sometimes it can be seen as a narrow band marked by tall cliffs and beaches, yet in other locations it may stretch inland for many kilometres and consist of sediment, marshland, and possibly dunes. People have been attracted to the coastline through time, in particular for trading or leisure activities and those people have attempted to manage this sensitive area. Many coastal zones display clear demarcation between the physical and the human environment, with promenades and sea walls protecting settlement and economic activities from waves. However, when hazard events allow the water to attack, such defences tend to either fail, or merely lessen the damaging impact. Where rocks are soft and storms frequent, the shape of the coastline can change rapidly. Current thinking is leaning towards the idea of managed retreat rather than all out defence. Fortunately, not all coastlines are eroding away, and sediment can be re-deposited to form new land. Climatic change and sea level rise are now posing new challenges to the populations of coastal environments.