A Case in point: Santa Cruz and Erosion and its Impact in 1997 - 1998

A historical case in point for coastal erosion in October 1997 too 1998 when El Nino moved over the California's beaches causing variations of the erosion. Santa Cruz seen to the left, shows the period before El Nino and the severe erosion the community suffered after El Nino. The USGS during the same period created a monitoring project of the event and as seen by the link below the erosion was extensive, not only to the beach but the whole coastal region of upper Monterey Bay. Sea walls exacerbated the problem by under cutting the beaches eroding the sands and reducing beaches throughout Monterey bay.

http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/elnino/coastal/mainbeach.html

http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/hutchinson/images/c00575.jpg

http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/elnino/coastal/seacliff.htm l

Link to the USGS site for a time delayed photographic timeline.