tafoni

6d

I gather honeycombing in rock is called tafoni. Much honeycombing is weather - related, but here the park ranger says it is helped along by people digging into the soft cliff material.
#Photography #LincolnBeachOregon #Tafone #Tafoni #BeachCliffs

This is a photo of a seaside cliff made of mudstone and siltstone. The colors are in bands, representing various geological processes over time. The top band is grayish yellow, a mix of dune sand and volcanic ash, apparently from the Pleistocene. Below is a golden yellow band and then a red and umber band, formed from ancient sea beds in the Neogene and Paleogene eras. I am not much of a geologist, so this is handwavy. However, the interesting feature here is the small cave and the cliff wall riddled with small holes, like a honeycomb. These are called tafoni, and are the result of erosion of the soft cliff material. This honeycombed cliff wall is partly the result of people digging little holes, and the high tides further eroding them, making the holes deeper and smoother. You can see sand flowing at the bottom, which is added to the beach. There is a small park at the top of this cliff, and who knows how long it will last?

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