Geography 2051 Namikas - Final Exam
Questions and All Correct Answers
2025-2026 Updated.
Significance of population on coastal environments - Answer as population density and
economic activity increases, pressure on coastal ecosystems increases
Significance of transportation on coastal environments - Answer coasts are used for
transport of material in the sea and along the coast by waves
Littoral zone - Answer the area of shoreline where land is subject to wave action
Offshore zone - Answer the area of deeper water beyond the point at which waves begin to
break
Nearshore zone - Answer the area of shallow water beyond the low tide mark
Surf zone - Answer the area where waves break
Swash zone - Answer area exposed as breaking waves wash up and down the beach
Foreshore - Answer the area between the high-tide and the low-tide mark
Backshore - Answer The part of a beach above the high tide line; affected by wave action
during storm events
Tide range - Answer the difference in height between the high ride and the low tide
Flood tide - Answer incoming or rising tide
Ebb tide - Answer outgoing or falling tide
,Wave height - Answer difference in elevation from crest to trough and is determined by how
much energy the wave is carrying
Wave length - Answer measurement from crest to adjacent crest, with a trough between;
the longer the wave, the faster it travels
Wave period - Answer wave speed; the time it takes for a wave to tavel one wavelength
(usually a few seconds)
Wave steepness - Answer wave height divided by wave length; influences stability
Wave generation - Answer wind blows along the water and picks up water molecules that
build up into waves
Fetch - Answer the distance that the wind has traveled across open water
Wind speed - Answer the more energy transferred to the waters surface, the larger the wave
Wind duration - Answer the length of the wave determines how much energy is transferred
to the water; a longer wave event will result in more powerful waves
Orbital motion - Answer circular path that each individual particle of water follows
Shoaling transformation - Answer Sequence of wave that occurs as a wave moves near a
shallow water
Change in height, length, steepness
Wave breaking - Answer the wave becomes too steep, loses stability, and breaks (collapses
on itself)
Wave refraction - Answer the bending of waves so that they move nearly parallel to the
shoreline
Energy distribution at shore - Answer high energy erosion on headlands with less energy
, Beach drift - Answer sediment moves in a zigzag pattern along the beach face
Tsunami - Answer a giant wave caused by seismic activity beneath the ocean floor
Primary coasts - formation - Answer formed through terrestrial processes, with irregular
coasts
Secondary coasts - formation - Answer formed through marine processes that shape the
coastline via waves
What are the erosional features of coasts? - Answer Cliffs
Wave-cut platforms
Terraces
Arches
Stacks
Cliffs - Answer furthest point the wave was able to cut at that time
Wave-cut platforms - Answer waves cut platform down and they become wider and wider
(erosional)
Terraces - Answer set of wave cut cliffs/platforms
Arches - Answer waves refract around to cut headlands from both sides and create cuts
deeper and deeper so that it eventually cuts a cave through it (erosional)
Stacks - Answer bridges that once connected pieces of rock collapse and leave behind
isolated rock (erosional)
What are depositional features of coasts? - Answer Spits
Tombolos
Barrier islands
Questions and All Correct Answers
2025-2026 Updated.
Significance of population on coastal environments - Answer as population density and
economic activity increases, pressure on coastal ecosystems increases
Significance of transportation on coastal environments - Answer coasts are used for
transport of material in the sea and along the coast by waves
Littoral zone - Answer the area of shoreline where land is subject to wave action
Offshore zone - Answer the area of deeper water beyond the point at which waves begin to
break
Nearshore zone - Answer the area of shallow water beyond the low tide mark
Surf zone - Answer the area where waves break
Swash zone - Answer area exposed as breaking waves wash up and down the beach
Foreshore - Answer the area between the high-tide and the low-tide mark
Backshore - Answer The part of a beach above the high tide line; affected by wave action
during storm events
Tide range - Answer the difference in height between the high ride and the low tide
Flood tide - Answer incoming or rising tide
Ebb tide - Answer outgoing or falling tide
,Wave height - Answer difference in elevation from crest to trough and is determined by how
much energy the wave is carrying
Wave length - Answer measurement from crest to adjacent crest, with a trough between;
the longer the wave, the faster it travels
Wave period - Answer wave speed; the time it takes for a wave to tavel one wavelength
(usually a few seconds)
Wave steepness - Answer wave height divided by wave length; influences stability
Wave generation - Answer wind blows along the water and picks up water molecules that
build up into waves
Fetch - Answer the distance that the wind has traveled across open water
Wind speed - Answer the more energy transferred to the waters surface, the larger the wave
Wind duration - Answer the length of the wave determines how much energy is transferred
to the water; a longer wave event will result in more powerful waves
Orbital motion - Answer circular path that each individual particle of water follows
Shoaling transformation - Answer Sequence of wave that occurs as a wave moves near a
shallow water
Change in height, length, steepness
Wave breaking - Answer the wave becomes too steep, loses stability, and breaks (collapses
on itself)
Wave refraction - Answer the bending of waves so that they move nearly parallel to the
shoreline
Energy distribution at shore - Answer high energy erosion on headlands with less energy
, Beach drift - Answer sediment moves in a zigzag pattern along the beach face
Tsunami - Answer a giant wave caused by seismic activity beneath the ocean floor
Primary coasts - formation - Answer formed through terrestrial processes, with irregular
coasts
Secondary coasts - formation - Answer formed through marine processes that shape the
coastline via waves
What are the erosional features of coasts? - Answer Cliffs
Wave-cut platforms
Terraces
Arches
Stacks
Cliffs - Answer furthest point the wave was able to cut at that time
Wave-cut platforms - Answer waves cut platform down and they become wider and wider
(erosional)
Terraces - Answer set of wave cut cliffs/platforms
Arches - Answer waves refract around to cut headlands from both sides and create cuts
deeper and deeper so that it eventually cuts a cave through it (erosional)
Stacks - Answer bridges that once connected pieces of rock collapse and leave behind
isolated rock (erosional)
What are depositional features of coasts? - Answer Spits
Tombolos
Barrier islands
