A A bank of shingle, boulders, pebbles or sand sloping down to the water's edge. Beaches can be wide and flat or narrow and steep. They often sit at the bottom of cliffs, embankments and shore platforms. Lower parts of the beach may be under water at high tide. Cliff B A fairly high and steep coastal slope leading down to the shore.
Cliffs can have a face of bare rock or be covered by soil and plants.
There may be a beach, shore platform or saltmarsh at the base of the cliff, along with signs that landslides have taken place. Embankment C A natural or man-made ridge of earth, concrete, shingle or boulders. Embankments are often found along the banks of tidal rivers and can be covered by plants. Mudflats and saltmarsh develop in front of some embankments, but may be partly under water at high tide. A flat, or low-lying coastal plain made of muddy or sandy sediments on which few plants grow.