Which feature is formed by wave erosion that creates hollow spaces in a cliff?

Which feature is formed by wave erosion that creates hollow spaces in a cliff?

• A. Sea Cave.
• B. Sea Cliff.
• C. Sand Spit.
• D. Rip Current.

Answer: (A)

Wave erosion carves hollow spaces into cliffs when the energy of breaking waves exploits cracks and weaknesses in the rock. Hydraulic action, where water and trapped air are forced into joints, plus abrasion from sand and pebbles grinding against the face, widen these cracks over time. The result is a hollow cavity at the base of the cliff called a sea cave. If this cavity breaches to the other side of a headland, it may become an arch and later leave a sea stack after collapse. The sea cliff is simply the exposed vertical face of rock, not a hollow; a sand spit forms from longshore drift along the coast; rip currents are offshore water movements, not landforms created by wave erosion. So the hollow-space feature formed by wave erosion is a sea cave.

Wave erosion carves hollow spaces into cliffs when the energy of breaking waves exploits cracks and weaknesses in the rock. Hydraulic action, where water and trapped air are forced into joints, plus abrasion from sand and pebbles grinding against the face, widen these cracks over time. The result is a hollow cavity at the base of the cliff called a sea cave. If this cavity breaches to the other side of a headland, it may become an arch and later leave a sea stack after collapse. The sea cliff is simply the exposed vertical face of rock, not a hollow; a sand spit forms from longshore drift along the coast; rip currents are offshore water movements, not landforms created by wave erosion. So the hollow-space feature formed by wave erosion is a sea cave.