Headland

A headland (or simply head) is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.[1] Headlands are characterised by high, breaking waves, rocky shores, intense erosion, and steep sea cliffs.

Headlands and bays are often found on the same coastline. A bay is flanked by land on three sides, whereas a headland is flanked by water on three sides. Headlands and bays form on discordant coastlines, where bands of rock of alternating resistance run perpendicular to the coast. Bays form where weak (less resistant) rocks (such as sands and clays) are eroded, leaving bands of stronger (more resistant) rocks (such as chalk, limestone, granite) forming a headland, or peninsula. Through the deposition of sediment within the bay and the erosion of the headlands, coastlines eventually straighten out then start the same process all over again.

List of notable headlands

Africa

Cape Malabata, Morocco

Asia

Europe

Cliffs at Beachy Head, England
Land's End, England

North America

Canada

Greenland

Mexico

United States

Hanauma Bay and Koko Crater at Koko Head, O'ahu Island, Hawai'i, USA
Point Reyes, California, USA

Oceania

Australia

South West Cape, Tasmania

New Zealand

South America

Cape Horn, Chile

See also

References

  1. ↑ Whittow, John (1984). Dictionary of Physical Geography. London: Penguin, 1984, pp. 80, 246. ISBN 0-14-051094-X.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.