Cliffed coast

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.

Formation

In coastal areas in which the land surface dips at a relatively steep angle below the water table, the continuous action of marine waves on the coastline, known as abrasion, may create a steep declivity known as a cliff, the slope angle of which depends on a variety of factors including the jointing, bedding and hardness of the materials making up the cliff as well as the erosional processes themselves. The slope is constantly being eroded. The waves attacking the cliff-foot form a wave-cut notch by constant abrasion action producing an overhang. This overhang grows in size as the cliff is undercut, until it collapses under its own weight. The loose debris that has broken off is gradually carried away from the area in front of the cliff by the action of the sea. As the coastal cliffs collapse, the shoreline recedes inland. The speed at which this happens depends, in particular, on the strength of the surf, the height of the cliff, the frequency of storm surges and the hardness of the bedrock. Thus, the Mecklenburg coast in Germany recedes by about 25 centimetres per year, whereas the chalk cliffs of southern England retreat by just ½ a centimetre each year. A cliffed coast is made of a loose bedrock material, such as at the Red Cliff on the German island of Sylt, but can also occur in hard rock like the red sandstone cliffs on Heligoland. There are, however, differences between the former and the latter regarding some peculiarities of the coast line.

Seacliff (disambiguation)

Seacliff can refer to:

Sea Cliff can refer to:

Sea Cliff (LIRR station)

The Sea Cliff is a historic station along the Oyster Bay Branch of the Long Island Rail Road. It is located on Sea Cliff Avenue and Glen Keith Road between Glen Cove Avenue and Cedar Swamp Road in the City of Glen Cove, New York, east of the Town of Oyster Bay hamlet of Sea Cliff, New York. The station was actually named after Sea Cliff Avenue, rather than the hamlet.

History

Sea Cliff station was built in 1867 by the Glen Cove Branch Rail Road, and renovated in May 1888 at the cost of $4,000. The station is typical of many LIRR stations of the late-Victorian era. It contains a two-story red brick structure with an gabled-roof that extended into canopies on the sides, which contains elaborate gingerbread woodwork along the canopies. From July 2, 1902 to December 31, 1924, it had connections to two trolley lines. One was the Sea Cliff Village Trolley, owned by the Nassau County Railway and the other was the Glen Cove Railroad (not to be confused with the old LIRR subsidiary) which ran along the Oyster Bay Branch right-of-way into Downtown Glen Cove in 1905. From 1909 to 1956, it also contained a wooden pedestrian bridge. Nearly a century after the second station was built, it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The station was renovated in 1997.