Aliso Beach

Aliso Beach, like Main Beach to the north, is a little longer and wider than most other beaches along this shoreline. It benefits from having formed in the vicinity of a stream mouth where the bluffs are set back farther and there's more sand to build the beach.

AERIAL VIEW

There was a significant scarp running the length of the upper beach. These cuts form when wave action lowers the beach profile - pulling the sand offshore. They are typically associated with big storms, but are often most pronounced when either nature, or humans, have created a particularly high back beach. I don't know much about the recent history here, but will assume this reflects natural processes -- although I suppose the beach could have been nourished. The lower beach also had large, distinct cusps, with a coarse gravelly lag in the hollows.

I guess there are plans to restore the estuary at the mouth of Aliso Creek. I suppose there aren't many places to do this along here - the topography, the lack of significant streams, and the dense development all conspire against the formation and maintenance of estuaries.