structure

• Horizontally bedded strata:

  • Undercutting by wave action leads to rock fall, causing cliffs to retreat inland
• Seaward-dipping strata:

  • Undercutting by wave action removes basal support, causing rock layers to loosen and slide into the sea along the bedding plane
• Landward-dipping strata:

  • Rocks loosened by weathering and wave action are difficult to dislodge, gradually lowering the slope profile by weathering and mass movement
• Jointing refers to naturally occurring cracks in rocks, powerful tectonic forces that crack the rock without movement along a slip plane
• Secondary permeability occurs when water seeps into limestone due to many joints/fractures
• Bedding refers to small divisions of rock marked by well-defined divisional planes separating it from layers above and below
• Faulting is caused by earth movements, where in a fault, the rock moves on a slip plane
• Geological rock structure is the result of powerful tectonic forces that fold and break rock within the earth on a large scale
• Permeability in porous rocks like chalk allows liquid/air to pass through due to tiny air spaces (pores) separating mineral particles