Wave-cut platform

A gently sloping rock surface at a coast, formed as waves erode the base of a cliff and cause it to retreat.

Wave-cut notch: A recess cut into the base of a coastal cliff by wave erosion. Waves deepen this notch until the overlying cliff becomes unstable.
Coastal erosion: The wearing away of shorelines by waves, currents, weathering, and related processes. Wave-cut platforms are landforms produced by coastal erosion.
Marine terrace: A relatively level coastal landform left above present sea level by uplift or falling sea level. An uplifted or abandoned wave-cut platform can form a marine terrace.
Wave-built terrace: A coastal bench formed by sediment deposition under wave action. Unlike a wave-cut platform, it is built mainly from deposited sediment.
Hydraulic action: Erosion caused when water and compressed air forcefully enter cracks in rock. Repeated pressure in cliff cracks helps weaken rock above the platform.
Sea cliff: A steep coastal slope or rock face shaped by marine erosion and subaerial processes. The platform develops at the foot of the cliff it helps retreat.
Raised beach: A former shoreline deposit now elevated above the reach of ordinary tides. Raised beaches can occur alongside abandoned coastal platforms as evidence of past shorelines.
Coral reef: A marine ecosystem and carbonate structure built largely by reef-forming organisms. Reefs can create shallow coastal benches through biological construction, not cliff erosion.
Abrasion (geology): Rock erosion caused by particles carried by water, wind, or ice scraping against a surface. Wave-thrown sediment grinds the cliff base and platform surface.
Wave action: The movement and impact of waves as they interact with a shoreline. Wave energy determines where and how strongly the rock surface is eroded.

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