9.1.5

Wave-Cut Platforms & Cliffs

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Wave-Cut Platforms

Over time, cliffs are eroded by destructive waves, resulting in the formation of wave-cut platforms. This process is described below:

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Stage 1

  • Destructive waves are responsible for most of the erosion at the base of cliffs.
  • Eventually, this erosion causes a wave-cut notch to form.
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Stage 2

  • Continued erosion of the wave-cut notch causes the rock above it to become less and less stable until it collapses.
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Stage 3

  • Waves wash away the debris from the cliff collapse.
  • The destructive waves begin to erode the cliff, causing a new wave-cut notch to form.
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Stage 4

  • As stages 1-3 happen again and again, more debris falls into the ocean and the cliff retreats.
  • What is left behind is called a wave-cut platform.

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