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Geography Assignment

The document provides information about Stockton Beach and the Stockton Sand Dunes located in New South Wales, Australia. It describes the geographical formation and location of the sand dunes, how they were formed through wind erosion over many years, and various human impacts on the area, both positive and negative, including overfishing, military bombing activities, and damage caused by recreational activities and invasive plant species. It discusses management strategies that have been implemented to protect the natural features and native species.

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reuben97
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219 views7 pages

Geography Assignment

The document provides information about Stockton Beach and the Stockton Sand Dunes located in New South Wales, Australia. It describes the geographical formation and location of the sand dunes, how they were formed through wind erosion over many years, and various human impacts on the area, both positive and negative, including overfishing, military bombing activities, and damage caused by recreational activities and invasive plant species. It discusses management strategies that have been implemented to protect the natural features and native species.

Uploaded by

reuben97
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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WHERE IS IT?

Provide a detailed written description of the location of the feature. You will also need to include a clearly labelled map and/or satellite image. Stockton Beach is located at the north of Hunter River in the state of New South Wales. The whole beach is very large and is about 32 kilometres long, stretching from Stockton all the way to Anna Bay. The Stockton Sand Dunes are located right next to the beach at the Stockton Bight, which runs between Newcastle and Nelson Bay. Some of these sand dunes go above 30 metres! The Stockton Bight is located at the centre point of the New South Wales coast which is about halfway between Victoria and Queensland. The sand dunes would have to be located at a coastal area where winds are particularly stronger. Without these strong winds, the sand dunes would not even exist.

WHY IS IT THERE?
What geographical processes have caused the formation of this feature? For example, is the feature formed due to deposition or erosion, and how is this taking place? You should provide a written explanation that is supplemented with diagrams or annotated photographs. Sand dunes are usually created after years and years of wind erosion. Since there are frequent natural winds from the beach, sand dunes are often located next to a beach or at least close to one. During long periods of settled weather, sand dunes would eventually build up along the beach. However, short-term erosion can also occur during large storms as the thundering waves are able to erode the beach and the sand dunes closest to the sea. This process will sometimes leave a vertical sort of wall on the side of the sand dune.

Ff

After this process, the eroded sand is then deposited off into the surf. Different type of sand erosion can occur in just a few hours during a storm but to have sand dunes like the one in Stockton would take years and years. After the storm, the beach repairs itself before the sand dunes can recover. The beach repairs itself by letting the gentler waves take back the clumps of sand back to the surf, slowly rebuilding the beach to its usual form.

For the Stockton Sand Dunes, it would take many years for the sand to build itself up. Each year, the sand dunes move about four metres in the northerly direction.

HOW DO PEOPLE IMPACT ON THIS FEATURE?


What impact does human activity have on this feature? For the Stockton beach, there have been many historic human activities found in this area. Shipwrecks are common sightings and they still continue to periodically wash onto shore but the two most permanent and recognisable ones are the Uralla and the Sygna. The beach is pretty well known for this and the best part is that it also doesnt have a massive impact on the environment. Another massive human impact it has on the beach is over fishing. Also in the past during World War II, the Stockton Beach was used as a military bombing range and Air Force pilots used to regularly drop bombs onto the beach before landing in another place. The Stockton Sand Dunes have been impacted by humans a lot more though. With this comes with many advantages as well as disadvantages for the environment. Of course, while humans are bearing the advantages of sand boarding, experiencing the ride of a four wheel drive on the sand hills and riding on a camel, what is really happening with the environment around us? It is suffering from the selfishness of humans once again. These activities destroy many very large areas of vegetation while also degrading the sand from the sand dunes. The introduction of the Bitou Bush is also beginning to spread wildly in the area of the Stockton Sand Dunes. The Bitou Bush is a type of weed, and is very dangerous

for the environment as it invades the native vegetation around it and takes out the homes of the fauna.

WHAT ACTION IS APPROPRIATE?


How is this feature being managed? What strategies would need to be used in order to protect this natural feature? For the Stockton Beach, there have been new rules to save the pipis from becoming completely extinct in that area. You would notice that many pipis are washed out to shore. Now people would have to adopt a catch and release rule which is pretty much selfexplanatory: once you catch a pipi, you must release it back into the ocean. Another rule that they have used to save more of the beaches after World War II, they immediately stopped the bombings on the beach. However you can imagine how many animals were killed during the time and it could too late to prevent any of them from becoming extinct in that area. Altogether, not much action has actually been taken to save the Stockton Sand dunes. The four wheel drives are still there polluting the air, the sand boarding still continues to operate although it isnt doing too much harm, but they have reduced the amount of people isiting every year. The owners or carers of the Stockton Sand Dunes have done their best to wipe out the spreading of the Bitou Bush.

WHAT GEOGRAPHICAL FIELD STUDY SKILLS CAN I USE?


The inclusion of your original photos, field sketches and personal observations can earn you bonus marks. I noticed that when I was up on top of the Sand Dunes, the wind was continuously blowing the dry sand everywhere. From this information, this is how wind erosion works. After years and years of this, all the sand from the top of the hill would blow to the lower areas of the sand dunes. However, this only happens at the top of the sand dunes, which is why there are no places where there is only soil.

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