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The Holderness Coast is one of Europe's fastest eroding coastlines. The average annual rate of erosion is around 2 metres per year. The main reason for this is because the bedrock is made up of till which is a soft rock so it is eroded more quickly than harder rock. Flamborough is the headland that forms the most northerly point of the Holderness Coast. The most striking aspect of Flamborough Head is the white chalk cliffs that surround it. The chalk lies in distinct horizontal layers. Above the chalk at the top of the cliffs is a layer of till (glacial deposits) left behind by glaciers 18,000 years ago, during the last Ice age. As the cliffs below are worn away by the action of the waves, the clay soil often falls into the sea in huge landslips. .
The sea attacks the coast around the headland in two ways. Waves beat against the vertical cliffs and, at the high water line; weak points in the chalk are worn away into caves. The weakest points are where vertical cracks or fault lines have appeared in the horizontal beds of chalk. At places on the cliffs where the chalk juts out, these caves are worn away into rock arches. If the top of an arch collapses, the result is a pillar of chalk cut off from the rest of the headland - this is called a stack. Flamborough Head has many caves and arches, as well as a few stacks. The process of erosion that has created them can take hundreds of years to do its work. .
There is a 2.9km stretch of shoreline fronting the town of Hornsea, which has 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. .
The East coast of England is also partial to erosion. This is due to its long fetch distance, which produces a greater amount of energy release when waves break in the coastal zone, so more destructive waves are formed.
