Hard and soft rock

There are lots of different kinds of rock, but all of them come under 2 different sorts, hard rock and soft rock.

Some of the soft rocks include certain types of limestone sandstone, chalk and clay. Most of these would probably be eroded by the sea and that would form a cove or a bay.

Hard rocks include pebbles, the other types of limestone and many other stones. A lot of these could be included in a headland.

Coastal animals

In the coastal environment there are many inhabitant animals. Some of these include sea-going birds, like sea gulls, crabs, fish and various other animals of the coast. Most of these adapt to their environment by being able to swim in the water and walk or crawl on the land.

Gulls are especially adapted to the environment by being able to fly to look for prey, swim and dive in the water to catch prey, and they can walk on the land so they can roost. Crabs are adapted to the environment by being able to dive under water and stay there for a long time to catch food such as small fish and sea-plants like algae. The crabs usually make burrows in the sand and sometimes make it elsewhere.

Some animals on the coast have different ways of adaption, each one unique in their own special way.

Coves, bays and headlands

Coves, bays and headlands are naturally formed by the sea. A cove is formed when a band of soft rock like sandstone on a cliff or beach is washed away by the sea, consequently forming a U shape in the land. This process takes makes millions of years to form. An example of one of these is Lulworth cove, South England. A bay is extremely similar to this and is formed in the same way but the main difference between the two is that a bay less curved than a cove. A headland is a small piece if hard rock that would be in between two coves or bays that sticks out from the rest of the land, such as Old Harry Rocks.

Stacks, caves and arches.

Stacks, caves and arches are naturally formed by the sea. A cave is formed when all of the soft rock (eg chalk and sandstone) in a headland or outcrop of rock is eroded away by the sea and gradually getting bigger to form a cave. Some examples of these can be found on the beach of Lulworth Cove near to Durdle Door. An arch is formed when a cave is formed on both sides of a headland or outcrop of rock and eventually break through eachother to make an arch. A fabulous example of this is Durdle Door at Lulworth cove. A stack is formed when an arch gets old and the top erodes away to form a small tower of rock or, as it is called, stack. A good example of this is Old Harry Rocks in Swanage. Eventually a stack would get smaller and thinner to become a needle, follwed by a stump. A good place to see these are at The Needles on the Isle of Wight.