Morphological features and processes in the central Algarve rocky coast (South Portugal)

Morphological features along the Algarve rocky coast, South Portugal, are identified and described, with an emphasis on shore platforms and notches. The contributions of processes, such as wave attack, chemical weathering and bioerosion, to sculpting the shore platforms are discussed. The preferential localization of shore platforms on sites exposed to waves, and the lack of significant chemical weathering, point to wave erosion as the first-order factor in platform formation, whilst bioerosion/bioprotection, lithology and geological structure determine platform morphological variations. In addition, platforms above the present intertidal zone appear to have a polygenetic evolution, being inherited from former sea-level highstands and currently undergoing chemical weathering. The occurrence of notch features is independent of the degree of exposure to waves, but they mostly occur where the substratum is sand. Hydrostatic pressure appears to be an important factor in the formation of marine caves in the more sheltered sites.