Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
Plate 13.8
Sea stacks at Bedruthan Steps, Cornwall, England.
(
Photograph by Richard Huggett
)
Plate 13.9
Sandy beach near Poipu, Kauai, Hawaii.
(
Photograph by Tony Waltham Geophotos
)
probably because rivers carry predominantly fine sedi-
ments and cliff erosion donates little to littoral deposits
in the tropics (Plate 13.9). Under some conditions,
and notably in the tropics, beach sediments may,
through the precipitation of calcium carbonate, form
beachrock
.
Beach profile
Beaches have characteristic profiles, the details of which
are determined by the size, shape, and composition
of beach material, by the tidal range, and by the
kind and properties of incoming waves (Figure 13.7).
