page_title: Cliffed coast
section_title: Formation
hierarchical_section_title: Cliffed coast / Formation
caption_attribution_description: Dingli cliffs 1
context_page_description: 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.
context_section_description: 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.
caption: Dingli Cliffs in Malta.
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