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Walton-on-the-Naze
14 June 2009
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Walton-on-the-Naze index |
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The new wind farm offshore
of Clacton, complete with stumps ready to be filled by new turbines! |
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Towards Walton town,
looking south over Jubilee Beach towards the pier.
Looking north towards the
tower. |
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Erosion at the Tower
Breakwater has been heavy and, after an evening visit, a proper visit
was required. |
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The growth of the
free face has been rapid, as material has been removed from the
beach and the fallen blocks have slipped downslope. These blocks
are now even more pronounced and the fault lines exposed. |
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'Basin and Range'
country at Walton; block-faulting in miniature and on the move!
Just to the south the cliffs have collapsed less coherently, in
a mass of cobble-sized lumps down to dust. |
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The relationship
between the cliff face and the cafe - and tower - will,
unfortunately, be the most notable point of these photographs in
years to come. The free face is of such a height that
significant falls are most likely this year. |
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The splash of green
indicated the presence of surface water, trapped by the mobile flows,
but also of stability. However, the vegetation is now on its way
beachwards en mass! |
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To the north of the
tower embayment, rotational slips mark 5% of the cliff top. |
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Cliff-top blocks
gliding down over the shear-plane discovered on my last visit. |
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More cliff-top
failures and, on the right, a large slip developing from a
ground break in the right foreground of the photo. Note the
clay-based wave-cut platform in the backdrop. |
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Coastal retreat is
still in evidence towards the northern end of the Naze with,
centre and below, the old sea wall being chewed up from its
flanks. |
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The sea wall and
lagoon, left and above, is the site of some sand migration from
the disappearing beach (reseeded a few years ago) that quickly
gives way to the clay basement, centre. On the right is drying
clay, crumbling in the sun. |
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Crumbling cliffs,
left and right, where the toe of the slide is being removed by
wave action. Centre, an isolated hillock of clay, a foot high,
resists the waves in front of the clay, and very slippery,
wave-cut platform! |
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New to me on this
trip is a recently fallen concrete gun mount, now on the edge of
the beach with its overburden still intact. Still Pushing the
concrete is a slide of quite mobile crag. |
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Beneath the Naze
Tower is a jumble of sliding blocks, with rotational slides and
even block glide in evidence. The blocks, being crag and even
clay, soon disintegrate of course. Much of the slope, therefore,
is chaotic. |
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A recent mobile
flow, of modest stature, stains the beach. |
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the lower areas of
the slips display plenty of mobile flows, with some pouring
across the beach. |
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The photo on the
left is outflanking the defended coast, and is only 5-10 metres
from the concrete access steps; here the free-face is high.
Centre, and right, blocks of fallen crag squeezed by block
faulting beneath a growing free face. |
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The amount of
surface moisture must add greatly to the weight of the slope and
is a powerful factor in promoting slippage. |
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The cross-profile of the
end of the protected coast, with the Naze breakwater on the right and
warning sign on the cliff overlook (halfway up) in the centre left. The
slopes are vegetated and drained, but are being reduced from the north
as the sea outflanks the defences at the breakwater. |
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A get-together of
lifeboats, from Harwich and Walton, and their respective inshore
craft. |
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Walton-on-the-Naze
Breakwater Tower coasts cliffs
erosion beaches groynes clay sand defences mobile
slides rotational slumps rescue Sea King Helicopter RNLI
wind farms offshore wave cut platform concrete blocks |
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