Given a coastline trending North-West to South-East and a wind blowing from due north (waves approaching from the north), the net littoral drift of beach material will most likely be directed along which part of the shore?

Introduction / Context:
Littoral drift (longshore sediment transport) is driven primarily by wave approach angle. When waves strike the coastline obliquely, the swash moves sediment up the beach at that angle while backwash returns down the steepest slope (nearly normal to shore), creating a resultant alongshore transport in the direction of the wave component parallel to the shoreline.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Coastline orientation: North-West to South-East (a line trending from 315° to 135° azimuth).
• Wind from north ⇒ wind-waves approach from the north (toward the south).
• No complicating currents or headlands are considered; we analyze the geometric component.

Concept / Approach:
Project the wave-approach vector (toward the south) onto the coastline direction. The coastline axis pointing toward the South-East has an opposite axis toward the North-West. The southward wave vector has a negative projection along the South-East axis, which means the alongshore component points toward the opposite end—North-West. Hence, net littoral drift trends to the North-West under the stated conditions.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Represent coastline unit vector along SE (135°).Take incident wave direction as due south (180°).Compute the projection; result is opposite to SE, i.e., toward NW.Therefore, select 'North west'.

Verification / Alternative check:
A quick vector diagram confirms the alongshore component points toward the NW end of the NW–SE shoreline for waves from the north.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• South, South-East, South-West, West do not align with the alongshore component derived from the geometry.

Common Pitfalls:
Confusing wind direction 'from' with wave travel direction 'toward'; mixing shoreline bearing with its normal.

Final Answer:
North west