I must say this is the best place to learn the complicated subject of worldbuilding. Combined with the knowledge of geography your videos help like a blessing.
I can't believe I forgot about this in the script editing bit, but I'll mention it here: Tidal wetlands, such as salt marshes, can grow to such an extent that they fill an entire estuary, connecting former barrier islands to the mainland. A good example of this would be at the mouth of the Merrimac River in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Plum Island, to the south, is attached to the mainland by a tidal flat at low tide, but is only separated from the mainland by Plumbush Creek at high tide, only 30 meters wide. To the north, the barrier island is actually fully attached to the mainland by extensive salt marshes, and as such doesn't have a separate name.
I was actually thinking about Plum Island during the part on the salt marshes! My family goes there every summer. The north bit isn’t connected *per se* to the mainland, as there is a tidal channel that forms the plumbush river’s north mouth separating it; during spring low tides, it’s scarcely there, but most other times, it’s deep enough to get most recreational boats through (although my dad has a story about having to push my grandpa’s fishing boat through the muck with his brothers)
Literally revising for my Geography A-Level right now and the Human Geography side’s got me on the verge of a breakdown. Thank God this video’s here to cheer me up a bit - Physical Geography was the reason I took this damned subject and the quicker I can get Migration over with the faster I can get back to revising Coasts, something I actually enjoy 😭
Same here, choose to study Geography in university but it's way more human geography than I thought, so now I'm just watching this 'cause I'm so bored of regional planning and demography and stuff, just give me more physical please 😂
I took geography A-level because I liked it at school and then geology because I liked the physical bit of geography. I never regretted anything more and I never even did my exam because of covid
Emergent coasts are dominated by erosion, submergent coasts are dominated by deposition. So, how your rivers interact with your coasts will be determined by that. NB: Large river deltas cannot form on emergent coasts because they are depositional formations. You can have some small scale splitting, but you won't be able to get those characteristic protrusions. (Compare the Colorado River to the Nile)
Someone said if you compiled all this into a book, they'd buy it. I would too. However, have you considered trying to make this into a program? Imagine putting your fault lines into a program, figuring out the currents, then with a couple of clicks and choices here and there, watch your world get built. The program can tell you where certain areas are so that you can customize each area as you need it. *stars in eyes* I realize something like that would be a huge undertaking and the mathematics involved would be... Well, daunting is probably a good word for it. But I would totally buy that program.
Hey, artifexian, would you ever consider making a video on how glaciers, ice ages and being in the artic/Antarctic can affect the land and it's formations?
I was surprised to learn rocky coasts dominate - I've really only been to coastal plains - mostly sandy, occasionally pebbly. But thinking on it more - that might reflect which kind people visit more. (Also, I don't travel much, so living closer to a coast plain than a rocky coast could also skew my perspective.)
Coral reefs can keep pace with erosion since they are depositing carbonate rocks faster than they erode. Atolls can persist near the surface for a long time as long as the coral keeps growing
I just came back to this channel after finding it early on into my worldbuilding endeavors, and am still awestruck by the amount of detail present! I would love to see a video about how impact craters (from meteors/asteroids/moons/etc.) effect topography and/or the shape of craters and how they can change!
So, what you’re saying is: if my would has a salt-loving tree like the Mangrove that can tolerate, or even prefers, the cold, I can have a mid- or northern latitude mangrove swamp with all the associated visuals? Interesting…
Fun fact, pink beaches aren't always from corral sediment washing ashore. They can also come from blackish volcanic rock. Because minerals are weird, some granite will appear near black when intact, but when erroded, the smaller quartz crystals that are produced are a soft pink.
This video comes at a perfect time for me. I'm just designing a tropical coastline and was thinking of lots of long, coral sand beaches, but it's on an active plate margin with coastal mountains so cliffs and coves it is then!
Interesting video as always Edgar, though I can't help but feel like a vast majority of these coasts aren't exactly the kind of detail that could survive being zoomed out into a world map, though it would give a feel of local maps well. Still, the barrier island coasts and flooded river valley coasts does offer some food for thought in at least terms of settlements and trade hubs. Thanks again for the video and the worldbuilding seeds.
Something that was overlooked with the organic beaches- oyster reefs. Most of them have been destroyed by overharvesting, or because they blocked access to harbors and river channels, but they can potentially grow to quite extensive volumes if undisturbed.
The pic for tidal flats (Oban, NZ) really threw me for a loop. I’ve been to Oban, but the one in Scotland, when I was studying marine biology and one of the things we did was visit a nearby mudflat/tidal flat. I was so sure you must’ve mislabelled the picture😅
Best example for tidal flats would be what is called Wattenmeer in germany (Though really, the Wattenmeer stretches from the netherlands to denmark) If you ever find yourself in the region, do see if you can go on a little tour of the tidal flats. Also, traditionally, you go barefoot in the process. Feels great. The consistency of the mud can actually vary greatly, some regions have very slimy mud that you sink into easily, while others have mud that, while you will leave footprints, is hard enough to easily stand and walk on.
Less severe winters and fire exclusion seem to favor northward advance of mangroves in places like Louisiana, if sea level rise doesn't drown the entire situation
Any reason you couldn't have a fantasy world with a cold tolerant mangrove equivalent? Also, there are apparently some kinds of coral that like deep water. Also also, what kinds of things would someone look for if they wanted to make an equivalent of the Giants' Causeway?
The Giant's Causeway is basalt, so it was formed by volcanic activity. I think that the hexagonal structure is caused by slow cooling allowing the rock to form large crystals.
@@qwertyTRiG There's a related formation in the Western Pacific called Nan Madol. They used that same kind of hexagonal basalt to build artificial islands in their lagoon.
What an excellent coincidence, I read up about coral reefs and atolls just yesterday because my character in an upcoming D&D campaign is an aquatic elf. This video might prove useful :)
@@smartart6841 probably just for his/her character backstory. It could be helpful, you never know. I once played a Firbolg in love with plant life, so I didn’t some research to seem more knowledgeable.
Dear Artifexian, here in France we usually distinguish two types of rocky coasts, with 'active cliffs' on the one hand and some kind of 'inactive' ones (don't know if there's a specific word for them) for those that aren't constanty eroded and that are more like a part of mountain plunging into the sea. I was thinking it would perhaps make your "rocky coasts" category a bit more precise, cause from what we saw, phenomena associated with these kinds of cliffs were quite different (for example, "mountain" ones are not eroded as fast, don't come with flat land behind and are of techtonical origin). Well, just thought about that because one of my teachers in particular was very, very, VERY excited about this xD Of course our littlle drawings were not as clean as yours haha
I was about to say, “R E T U R N O F T H E K I N G” because I haven’t seen a new video in like a year... But it was just the algorithm thinking it knows my likes better than my own freaking subscription preferences.
@@Jessie_Helms you mean "show up in my sub box" right, if so yes they actually do, every one of them, if there not making content then obviously they dont show up
@@Sawtooth44 correcting someone over a glaringly obvious typo/auto correct is such a ridiculous waste of time. And no, have you had your head buried for 5+ years? RU-vid doesn’t show you every video from every channel you’re subscribed to. I’ve seen videos suggested to me from less than an hour ago that don’t show in my sub box. This is a well known, well documented fact.
@@Jessie_Helms hay i had to make sure, cause before it sounded like you where suggesting i was subbed to you and if your on the home page then NO SHIT it shows suggestions, there is a completely separate page that shows JUST subscriptions and thats what im talking about
Yes please! Karst topography is the best, especially within the tropics. I mean, the South China karst looks like a fantasy world already. Not to mention all the weird plant and animal communities that develop around them!
Idk if this is the right way to do it but this is what I do Use your imagination make some stuff that wouldn't naturally happen! But also kinda make it make sense and take some inspiration from real life.
Would have loved a bit of coverage on the type of coastline found in the baltic sea. I have no idea of it's names, but it doesn't fit into any of the formarions mentioned here. It is most definitely not a typical rocky coast but also doesn't feature any of the forms mentioned on coastal plains here (except for small beaches in well protected spots). So here are some typical features: No tides: being only connecred to the ocean through the narrow danish straits, tides have pretty much no effect on the sea Islands: there are islands across every bit of coast created by post-glacial rebound (which is a latge driver of geography here). In fact at many parts of continental coast one can not see the open sea at all, or only through straits between the coastal islands. The taiga forest extends all the way to the shoreline. There are no real beaches or coastal plains in the most part, and when they exist, they are small. Exposed bedrock. No cliffs, but round bits of bedrock are exposed at new islands created by uplift, and at many coastlines, much like in the forests. "Pools" between island chains are formed and along with straits are one of the two main forms in coastal seas. I don't know if similar coastlines form anywhere else, but i would think this is still a worthwhile thing to have in a video about different types of coasts.
Similar coasts are found in Canada, the Northwest US, a great many places actually. The Strait of Georgia off British Columbia is full of islands like that.
@@keith6706 That's really cool. And it makes a lot of sense that they would exist there given the glaciation. I do wonder though, aren't those areas pretty close to the open pacific ocean, so wouldn't the tides still have effect there?
@Steelpush Coinshot I'm working on a con-world that is peppered with very large lakes. That's why I said super lake. Great lakes would probably be better to say.
