GeoTopics @ GeoNet

Hornsea

Location

A 2.9km stretch of shoreline fronting the town of Hornsea. A high density urban development containing residential and various tourist related properties, Hornsea's local economy is dependent on tourism and recreation as well as incorporating a small fishing industry.

Geology

Hornsea lies upon unconsolidated till. This material was deposited by glaciers during the last ice age 18,000 years ago.

Coastal Features

The groynes on Hornsea beach ensure wide and relatively steep beaches. The beach material is made up of sand and shingle.

Coastal Management

The position of the coastline at Hornsea has been artificially fixed since existing coastal defences were erected in the early 1900s. Hard defences in the form of a concrete seawall and timber groynes afford protection and an on going refurbishment programme ensure this has continued. More recently a stone gabion has been erected to the south of Hornsea. This helps protect the caravan park.

Beach material is being transported south along the Holderness Coast by longshore drift. In Hornsea sand has accumulated where protection exists. This is because the groynes provide a barrier to sediment transportation. This has reduced erosion within the section but increased rates are evident further south.

Hornsea Photo Gallery

Click the images below to see a larger version of each. PC users - To copy a picture place your cursor over the picture you want. Then right click and select copy. Then paste into your DTP or word processor package.

A view of Hornsea beach. Notice three examples of coastal protection in the photograph (wooden groynes protecting the sand from longshore drift, the sea wall and the boulders).

A groyne on Hornsea beach. Notice how the level of the sand on the left is higher than the sand on the right. This is because the sand is moving from the north to the south (left to right on this photograph). You can see the angle that the sea approaches the beach in the photograph. The sand on the left is trapped by the groyne. Over on the right the sand has been removed by longshore drift.

The sea wall at Hornsea.

View of the caravan from Hornsea beach. The caravan park is located to the south of Hornsea. Notice the remains of a building within the cliff material.

View of the caravan park. Notice the end of the sea wall to the right of the picture. The cliff material is made up of boulder clay.

The approach to the stone gabion.

The gabion at Hornsea

The view south of the gabion. Notice how the cliff retreats beyond the coastal defences

Slumped cliffs to the south of Hornsea

A close up of the boulderclay cliffs.