1. An A-Z of Coasts A is for Abrasion It wears and scours away.
B could be for Beach or Bar
(But I think I'll stick with Bay)‏

2. C is for Constructive wave
Which slowly builds a beach
D is for Destructive
Let's pray those waves don't reach...

3. E is for Erosion
F could be for Fetch
G for Groyne, wooden fences
Picked out on your coastal sketch

4. H – Hydraulic Pressure
Getting into cracks
Cutting out an Inlet
There's really no way back

5. J is for the Joint and weakness
Exploited by the waves
Kinetic, moving energy
Opens out a cave

6. L is Longshore Drift
As sediment is shifted
What has happened?
Where's it gone? Has it been longshore drifted?

7. M could be for Mappleton
Upon the Holderness coast
And if we're talking cliff erosion
M could stand for Most

8. N is for the Notch that's formed
Right at the headland's base
O is for the Overhang
(The jutting out cliff face)‏

9. P might stand for Pebbles
Washed upon the shore
Q for Quick – the speed of waves
Unless slowed by the Ocean floor

10. R might stand for Rip Rap
S for Coastal Spit
T for Traction, boulders rolled
shifted bit by bit

11. U could be Unstable
V for Vertical face
Put the two together
And the rocks fall to the base

12. W is Wave Cut platform
A reminder of what was there.
Once a cliff, standing proud
Now scantily clad and bare.

13. X is Xerophytic
Like the Marram Grass on a Spit
It can cope with dry conditions
And it simply will not quit.

14. Y could stand for Yellow
On the beach – the golden sand
It's there one minute, gone the next
Zig-zagged from the land.

15. An A to Z of coastal terms; There's lots there that we've learned
And much like the sea as it meets the coast
We've left no stone unturned
MF Cowan 2008
Like this? If so, visit the link below for more free resources and details of a book devoted to Poems for the Geography classroom