The importance of geologic structure and stratigraphy to cliff morphology and erosion along the northern Monterey Bay Coastline, Central California

ABSTRACT Coasts are among the most diverse environments on the Earth’s surface and are unique in being affected by the convergence of terrestrial, marine and atmospheric processes. The morphology of each individual segment of coastline is a result of the interaction between the tectonic setting and the properties of the materials making up the coast and the terrestrial and marine processes attacking the shoreline. Along the cliffed coast of central California, the combination of the structure and stratigraphy of the cliff-forming sedimentary rocks exerts a dominant influence on the coastal orientation, morphology and also erosion rates, which ultimately affects stability of all clifftop development. Graphical Abstract