Montauk Point EarthCache
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Erosion: Erosion is the process by which soil and rock are removed from the Earth's surface by natural processes such as wind or water flow, and then transported and deposited in other locations.
While erosion is a natural process, human activities have dramatically increased (by 10-40 times) the rate at which erosion is occurring globally.
Excessive erosion causes problems such as desertification, decreases in agricultural productivity due to land degradation, sedimentation of waterways, and ecological collapse due to loss of the nutrient rich upper soil layers. Water and wind erosion are now the two primary causes of land degradation; combined, they are responsible for 84% of degraded acreage, making excessive erosion one of the most significant global environmental problems we face today. Industrial agriculture, deforestation, roads, anthropogenic climate change and urban sprawl are amongst the most significant human activities in regards to their effect on stimulating erosion. However, there are many available alternative land use practices that can curtail or limit erosion—such as terrace-building, no-till agriculture, and revegetation of denuded soils.
The planners of the Montauk Point Lighthouse were well aware of erosion. The governments agents noted that "Montauk Point is washed by the sea in storms" and "wastes very fast". They erected the lighthouse at the extreme west end of the Turtle Hill plateau, at a distance of approximately 300 feet from the bluff. Over the past 200 years approximately 200' feet of montauk point was washed into the Atlantic Ocean. Today the lighthouse stands less than 100 feet from the edge of the bluff.
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cross section of protected bluff |
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Please email me at mmacgown@aol.com your answer to the following question: From your observations here, provide me with a list of the types of materials that are used to prevent the bluff from further erosion. Are these materials real or artificial? Pictures of the lighthouse are welcome, providing they do not give away any of the answers.
Enjoy your visit!
References: To Save a Lighthouse by Giorgina Reid and Against All Odds by Greg Donohue from the Montauk Lighthouse website. Wikipedia
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