longshore drift and spit formation

Lesson ObjectivesLesson Objectives

This lesson is about longshore drift and how this process creates depositional landforms.

By the end of this lesson you will be able to:• Name 3 depositional landforms• Describe longshore drift• Explain how longshore drift forms bars,

spits and tombolos

How is sediment transported along the coast?

Longshore Drift (LSD)

Draw yourself a diagram of longshore drift.

Annotate your diagram to explain how LSD works

Use the following words in your annotations:• Swash• Backwash• Gravity• Right angles• Wind direction

How are spits formed?

Skills Builder!Draw a sketch of the spit

Label the spit, the curved end and the salt marsh

Draw an arrow to show the direction of longshore drift

Annotate the diagram to explain how the spit has formed and developed

If a spit joins one part of the mainland to another it is called a bar.

For example, there is a bar at Orford Ness in Suffolk.

What is a bar?

Chesil Beach, DorsetChesil Beach, Dorset

Looking at these pictures do you think Chesil beach is a

bar, a tombolo or a spit?