Marine Terrances are a common occurrence in the costal ranges of California. They are formed by the constant uplift of the land, which is being eroded by the ocean. The land is being eroded faster than it can be uplifted. This creates large cliffs on the seaward side of the hill followed by a relatively steady grade. To better understand this concept, you can refer to the diagram below.
The uplift is caused by the pressure between the Elsinore fault to the east and the Newport-Inglewood Fault just offshore. This tension between these faults, moves the land up and creates the marine terraces. The uplift is 3.6 inches per 1,000 years or 9cm per 1,000 years in the southern California coastal region.
Works Cited
http://emvc.geol.ucsb.edu/2_infopgs/IP2IceAge/gMarTerrFm.html
http://www.songscommunity.com/docs/Marine_Terrace_Report_Final.pdf
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1. Las Flores Marine Terraces - on the first line of your email.
2. Looking to the north (with the ocean on your left) how many marine terraces do you see including the one you are standing on?
3. Explain the erosion processes here and how it is effecting the marine terraces as they get older.
4. Using the plaque's dedication date, find the elevation difference since the plaque was placed due to the uplift of the land here. To figure this out, you must know how many years the plaque has been here. Take that number, and multiply it by the average rate of uplift here per year.