A rocky shelf in front of a cliff formed by erosion and left after the cliff retreats is called what?

A rocky shelf in front of a cliff formed by erosion and left after the cliff retreats is called what?

• A. Wave-cut platform
• B. Sea stack
• C. Cliff platform
• D. Tidal flat

Answer: (A)

Wave-cut platform is formed when waves erode the base of a cliff, creating a notch. As erosion continues and the cliff becomes undercut and unstable, pieces collapse and the cliff retreats landward. The remaining rocky shelf at the foot of the cliff, exposed at low tides, is the wave-cut platform. A sea stack is a later remnant of a collapsing arch, a tidal flat is a broad mud or sand area in tidal zones, and terms like “cliff platform” aren’t the standard description for this feature.

Wave-cut platform is formed when waves erode the base of a cliff, creating a notch. As erosion continues and the cliff becomes undercut and unstable, pieces collapse and the cliff retreats landward. The remaining rocky shelf at the foot of the cliff, exposed at low tides, is the wave-cut platform. A sea stack is a later remnant of a collapsing arch, a tidal flat is a broad mud or sand area in tidal zones, and terms like “cliff platform” aren’t the standard description for this feature.