These California Cliffs Are Quickly 'Collapsing Into The Sea'

Female Mountain Climber on a Rock Face

Photo: Getty Images

Erosion is inevitable. Cliffs along the California coastline are constantly eroding, but some are eroding at a faster rate than others. According to The Los Angeles Times, erosion of cliffs located in the Northern part of the state occurs at a more rapid rate than erosion in Southern regions.

The counties that see the fastest rate of erosion are Del Norte, Humboldt, and Mendocino. The Los Angeles Times mentioned that beaches just south of San Francisco loose up to 16-feet to erosion every year. Due to increased rates of erosion, scientists are diving into the subject to prevent damage to surrounding infrastructure and population.

“It’s pretty exciting. … When you start to develop these kinds of datasets that are highly detailed — spatially, and ultimately temporally — we can then learn even more about … how cliffs behave over short time periods,” research director of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Climate Impacts and Coastal Processes Team Patrick Barnard shared with The Los Angeles Times. “This is what we need to know to be able to support coastal management and reduce hazard risk and get people out of harm’s way.”

This unavoidable phenomenon effects humans just as much as it does the environment. When cliff erosion occurs at a greater rate, we loose vital methods of transportation, such as roads, that allow us to conveniently get around the coast. Homes and businesses located on or near these cliffs are at higher risk of being effected by erosion.


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