geo.wikisort.org - Coast

The Coastal Cliff of northern Chile (Spanish: Acantilado Costero) stretches over a length of more than 1000 km along the Atacama Desert. It makes up a large part of the western boundary to the Chilean Coast Range in the regions of Arica y Parinacota, Tarapacá, Antofagasta, and Atacama.[1] According to Roland Paskoff the modern cliff origined from a scarp retreat of a fault scarp, thus at present the cliff does not follow any fault.[2]

In some locations a series of coastal benches can be found below the cliff.[3] Despite alternating uplift and subsidence of the continent at a decadal timescale the cliff and the whole western edge of the South American plate has faced a long-term uplift during the last 2.5 million years.[3]

See also

• Atacama Fault
• Coastal plains of Chile

References

---