Here at Toyon Bay erosion is constantly taking place! Erosion, the process in which the earth’s surface is worn away, can be caused by a number of ways including wind, rain, crashing waves, and even humans.
As wind blows against the earth’s surface it slowly begins to wear the environment away as well as smoothes and polishes it down. Over time this wear and tear is carried from one surface to another. Here at Toyon wind can carry a number of substances including dust, sand, and soil.
Although rain is not a common sight to see on the island it is still an important factor that affects erosion. Rain will wash away bits and pieces of soil and rocks and carry them to new places. Water is also a huge contributing factor in how our coastline was even formed! As waves continue to crash against our shore they wear rocks down into smaller and smaller pieces until they are turned into grains of sand. Over time waves even contribute to pushing coastlines further and further inland.
Us humans are even contributing factors towards erosion! Human activity can sometimes speed up the natural process of erosion. As we continue to physically change landscapes we inadvertently cause erosion to take place. For examples the more trees and plants we cut down, the more soil we expose. As a result more and more soil begins to wash away, creating less stable land, and an increase in erosion.
Written by: Alex Feltes
