How are headlands and bays formed?

Headlands and bays are examples of coastal formations. These coastal formations appear over time and are the effect of a variety of methods of coastal erosion. Methods of coastal erosion can include; hydraulic action, attrition, solution and abrasion. The exact specifics of these we can cover another time but the basic overview is that these methods of erosion remove sediment from coastal areas. Where headlands and bays form the coastline is discordant. This means that there are strips of rock that lie at right angles to the coast. At areas with headlands and bays these strips of rock are made up of different types of rock that erode at different rates.The softer rock, for example clay or sand, is less resistant to erosion and therefore is eroded quicker by the waves than the harder rock, for example: granite and limestone. The differential speed of erosion creates deep bays in the areas of softer rock while the harder rock juts out to create headlands. A good example of this is along the Dorset coastline from Studland Bay to Durlston Head.