Monday, May 09, 2011

Klootchman Rock






This big hunk of metamorphic rock sits on the beach below Scenic Heights, somewhere between Penn Cove and Oak Harbor. I think it can safely be called an erratic - since it sure didn't start here and I can't imagine it having wandered here without the help of ice. It's so big, you can't help but wonder if there is a big divot missing somewhere on the side of a valley in British Columbia.

Longshore drift is from south to north along this beach and is interrupted by the rock and the tiny tombolo that attaches it to the base of the bluff. The beach is wider to the south and the bluff a little less severe. To the north, the apparent lack of sediment results in a much diminished beach and a steeper bluff. The aerial (click on the title of this post) shows a distinct offset in the bluff crest. Jerry Thorsen first pointed out the groin-like nature of this feature to me years ago - as an example of how local details can influence bluff recession patterns.

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