It was from these high cliffs that Guglielmo Marconi made history in 1903 by sending the first wireless transmission from the United States to Europe. The original station and four large metal towers that were used to transmit the signal across the Atlantic have all succumbed to the sea. They toppled over the cliff edge, a testament to the continuing erosion. Further north in Truro is the most famous lighthouse on these shores, named Cape Cod or Highland Lighthouse. The erosion continues at two to three feet per year on average, except that averages are virtually meaningless because clay underlies the cliff, which fails catastrophically.
Nothing seems to happen for years, then suddenly a landslide occurs.
For this reason, caution must be exercised in climbing down wave-cut, steep cliffs that tower over 100 feet high. In fact, the National Park Service does not allow anyone to climb down these cliffs for safety and erosion control reasons. The lighthouse was recently moved back from the cliff edge so that it can continue to serve as a sentinel to seafarers. Rainfall wets and mobilizes the clay in the cliffs that when saturated flows out onto the Highland Lighthouse Beach. Potters have long used the blue clays because of their high quality.