The Rock Coast of the USA

Cheryl J. Hapke, Peter N. Adams, Jonathan Allan, Andrew Ashton, Gary B. Griggs, Monty A. Hampton, Joseph Kelly, Adam P. Young

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

Abstract

The coastline of the USA is vast and comprises a variety of landform types including barrier islands, mainland beaches, soft bluffed coastlines and hard rocky coasts. The majority of the bluffed and rocky coasts are found in the northeastern part of the country (New England) and along the Pacific coast. Rocky and bluffed landform types are commonly interspersed along the coastline and occur as a result of relative lowering of sea level from tectonic or isostatic forcing, which can occur on timescales ranging from instantaneous to millenia. Recent research on sea cliffs in the contiguous USA has focused on a broad range of topics from documenting erosion rates to identifying processes and controls on morphology to prediction modelling. This chapter provides a detailed synthesis of recent and seminal research on rocky coast geomorphology along open-ocean coasts of the continental United States (USA).

Original languageAmerican English
Title of host publicationRock Coast Geomorphology: A Global Synthesis
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 2014
Externally publishedYes

Disciplines

  • Life Sciences

Cite this