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The coastal landscape of Cornwall, England

Coastal

Coastal cliffs are the rocky land edges that face the sea. These are complex and diverse habitats that lie above the water line, where exposure to salty spray, wind, sun and rain all play their part, as does the type of rock. Flowers such as thrift, campion and samphires thrive here and colourful lichens coat the rocks. Clifftops make important nesting places for seabirds and each species has its own requirements: from precarious ledges for guillemots and kittiwakes to grassy slopes that puffins can burrow in. Sheer numbers of birds make a cacophony of noise and their nesting sites can smell pretty potent. Bats, lizards and buzzing insects are also to be found.

See a summer’s seabird ‘city’ spectacular.

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What lives here?

Mammals

Birds

Reptiles

Amphibians

Insects

Jellyfish

Where you find Coastal

Map showing the location of the Coastal habitat

About Coastal

A coastline or seashore is the area where land meets the sea or ocean. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the dynamic nature of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs. Both the terms coast and coastal are often used to describe a geographic location or region; for example, New Zealand's West Coast, or the East and West Coasts of the United States.

A pelagic coast refers to a coast which fronts the open ocean, as opposed to a more sheltered coast in a gulf or bay. A shore, on the other hand, can refer to parts of the land which adjoin any large body of water, including oceans (sea shore) and lakes (lake shore). Similarly, the somewhat related term "bank" refers to the land alongside or sloping down to a river (riverbank) or to a body of water smaller than a lake. "Bank" is also used in some parts of the world to refer to an artificial ridge of earth intended to retain the water of a river or pond; in other places this may be called a levee.

While many scientific experts might agree on a common definition of the term "coast", the delineation of the extents of a coast differ according to jurisdiction, with many scientific and government authorities in various countries differing for economic and social policy reasons.

Read more at Wikipedia

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Ecozones

Ecozones where this habitat is found

Habitats

Other Terrestrial habitats

BBC News about Coastal

Video collections

Take a trip through the natural world with our themed collections of video clips from the natural history archive.

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    When it comes to summer holidays, there's no better place than the seaside and if you know where to look you'll be surprised at the wildlife you can find.

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