Devil's Kitchen EarthCache
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A sea cave , also known as a littoral cave, is a type of cave formed primarily by the wave action of the sea.
The primary process involved is erosion. Sea caves are found throughout the world, actively forming along present coastlines and as relic sea caves on former coastlines.
Littoral caves may be found in a wide variety of host rocks, ranging from sedimentary to metamorphic to igneous, but caves in the latter tend to be larger due to the greater strength of the host rock.
In order to form a sea cave, the host rock must first contain a zone of relative weakness. In metamorphic or igneous rock, this is typically either a fault as in the caves of the Channel Islands of California, or a dyke as in the large sea caves of Kauai, Hawaii’s Na Pali Coast. In sedimentary rocks, this may be a bedding-plane parting or a contact between layers of different hardness. The latter may also occur in igneous rocks, such as in the caves on Santa Cruz Island, California, where waves have attacked the contact between the andesitic basalt and the agglomerate.
The driving force in littoral cave development is wave action. Erosion is ongoing anywhere that waves batter rocky coasts, but where sea cliffs contain zones of weakness, rock is removed at a greater rate along these zones. As the sea reaches into the fissures thus formed, they begin to widen and deepen due to the tremendous force exerted within a confined space, not only by direct action of the surf and any rock particles that it bears, but also by compression of air within. Blowholes (partially submerged caves that eject large sprays of sea water as waves retreat and allow rapid re-expansion of air compressed within), attest to this process. Adding to the hydraulic power of the waves is the abrasive force of suspended sand and rock. Most sea-cave walls are irregular and chunky, reflecting an erosional process where the rock is fractured piece by piece. However, some caves have portions where the walls are rounded and smoothed, typically floored with cobbles, and result from the swirling motion of these cobbles in the surf zone.
To log this cache, you must make an estimate of how tall the cave is from the floor of the cave to the roof. You must also post a picture of yourself and your GPS inside the cave. After you get this information, please email me the answers through my account.
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