Marine terrace

A marine terrace is a step-like coastal landform consisting of a relatively flat former shoreline and an adjoining steeper slope. It forms through wave erosion and changes in sea level or land elevation.

Wave-cut platform: A gently sloping rock surface cut by waves at the base of a sea cliff. A former wave-cut platform commonly forms the flat surface preserved in a marine terrace.
Shoreline: The boundary between land and a body of water at a particular time. Each terrace surface corresponds to a former shoreline position.
Paleo-sea-level reconstruction: The estimation of past sea levels from geological, biological, and archaeological evidence. Terrace elevations and ages can constrain the positions of former sea levels.
Santa Cruz Island marine terraces: Raised shoreline platforms preserved on Santa Cruz Island in California's Channel Islands. Their sequence illustrates terrace development along a tectonically active Pacific coast.
Marine erosion: The wearing away of coastal rock and sediment by waves, currents, and related processes. Wave erosion cuts the shoreline platform that can later emerge as a terrace.
Wave-cut notch: A recess eroded into a coastal cliff near the level of wave attack. Notches help identify the former sea-level position associated with a terrace.
Quaternary geology: The study of Earth's geology during the past 2.58 million years. Many terrace sequences preserve shoreline changes during the Quaternary.
San Clemente Island marine terraces: Raised coastal platforms preserved on San Clemente Island off southern California. The island's terraces provide a regional example of uplifted former shorelines.
Sea-level change: A rise or fall in the level of the sea relative to land over time. Shifts in sea level help determine where successive shoreline platforms form.
Wave-cut bench: A broad, gently sloping rock surface produced by wave erosion at a coast. This nearshore feature is a close counterpart to the platform preserved inland as a terrace.

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