A cliffed coast, also called an abrasion coast, is a form of coast where the action of marine waves has formed steep cliffs that may or may not be precipitous. It contrasts with a flat or alluvial coast.
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👉 Cliffed coast in the context of Coastline of Wales
The coastline of Wales extends from the English border at Chepstow westwards to Pembrokeshire then north to Anglesey and back eastwards to the English border once again near Flint. Its character is determined by multiple factors, including the local geology and geological processes active during and subsequent to the last ice age, its relative exposure to or shelter from waves, tidal variation and the history of human settlement and development which varies considerably from one place to another. The majority of the coast east of Cardiff in the south, and of Llandudno in the north, is flat whilst that to the west is more typically backed by cliffs. The cliffs are a mix of sandstones, shales and limestones, the erosion of which provides material for beach deposits. Of the twenty-two principal areas which deliver local government in Wales, sixteen have a coastline, though that of Powys consists only of a short section of tidal river some distance from the open sea. Its length (including Anglesey) has been estimated at 1,680 miles (2,700 km).
In this Dossier
Cliffed coast in the context of King's Cave
King's Cave (Scottish Gaelic: Uamh an Rìgh) is the largest of a series of seafront caves north of Blackwaterfoot on the Isle of Arran in Scotland. The caves were formed around 10,000 to 6,000 years ago during an ice age when the weight of an advancing glacier forced the land downward, so the sea was higher relative to the location of the cave, with high tide around 4 metres (13 ft) up from its present level. When the ice melted, the land rose due to the isostatic rebound effect, thus forming a raised shoreline or raised beach with relict sea-cliffs. The hillside above the cliffs has a shallow slope resulting from a much earlier raised beach, nominally 30 metres (98 ft) above present high tide.
Kilmory Parish church records suggest the cave may have been used for church meetings in the eighteenth century, and it is also said to have been used as a school. Before being known as the King's Cave it was known as Fingal's Cave after Fionn mac Cumhaill, a figure in Irish mythology.
Cliffed coast in the context of Natural arch
A natural arch, natural bridge, or (less commonly) rock arch is a natural landform where an arch has formed with an opening underneath. Natural arches commonly form where inland cliffs, coastal cliffs, fins or stacks are subject to erosion from the sea, rivers or weathering (subaerial processes).
Most natural arches are formed from narrow fins and sea stacks composed of sandstone or limestone with steep, often vertical, cliff faces. The formations become narrower due to erosion over geologic time scales. The softer rock stratum erodes away creating rock shelters, or alcoves, on opposite sides of the formation beneath the relatively harder stratum, or caprock, above it. The alcoves erode further into the formation eventually meeting underneath the harder caprock layer, thus creating an arch. The erosional processes exploit weaknesses in the softer rock layers making cracks larger and removing material more quickly than the caprock; however, the caprock itself continues to erode after an arch has formed, which will ultimately lead to collapse.