The Bay of Islands Coastal Park is a 32 kms long coastal reserve located in Victoria, Australia, on the Great Ocean Road between Peterborough and Warrnambool
The Bay of Islands Coastal Park are within an area of high geological and geomorphological significance. Collectively, the geological exposures and landforms within the park form an area of national significance. Individual significant sites have been identified that illustrate either contemporary or past geological and land forming processes. The high significance rating is based on the excellent displays of sedimentary rocks in the coastal cliffs and the variety of coastal and karst landforms related to both past and present geomorphological processes
The geology of the Parks comprises of marls (calcareous silts) of the Tertiary (Oligocene to Miocene) age overlain by Pleistocene dune limestones. The exposures in the coastal cliffs include the type sections of three major geological units of the Heytesbury Group (Clifton Formation, Gellibrand Marl and Port Campbell Limestone). Some of the Tertiary beds are richly fossiliferous, and fossil soils are preserved in the Pleistocene dune limestones. Precipitous or undercut cliffs up to 60 m high are the dominant coastal landform and create some of the most spectacular coastal scenery in Australia. Strong wave action is very effective in eroding these relatively soft, horizontally bedded rocks, which are fractured along intersecting joint planes. Where the joints are closely spaced, a deeply indented coastline with narrow, elongated bays and headlands has developed. Bayheads have developed where eroding cliffs have intersected sinkholes or caves in the limestone.
Pelagic Sediment
Pelagic sediment or pelagite is a fine-grained sediment that accumulates as the result of the settling of particles to the floor of the open ocean, far from land. These particles consist primarily of either the microscopic, calcareous or siliceous shells of phytoplankton or zooplankton; clay-size siliciclastic sediment; or some mixture of these. Trace amounts of meteoric dust and variable amounts of volcanic ash also occur within pelagic sediments. Based upon the composition of the ooze, there are three main types of pelagic sediments: siliceous oozes, calcareous oozes, and red clays.
The composition of pelagic sediments is controlled by three main factors. The first factor is the distance from major landmasses, which affects their dilution by terrigenous, or land-derived, sediment. The second factor is water depth, which affects the preservation of both siliceous and calcareous biogenic particles as they settle to the ocean bottom. The final factor is ocean fertility, which controls the amount of biogenic particles produced in surface waters.
Q1 Describe the colours and the texture of the cove's rock face.
Q2 Estimate the height of the cove rock on the right hand side.
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References ~ Parkweb Victoria, wikipedia