Existing comment:
Portuguese Bend
The Palos Verdes Peninsula is an up lifted block of land forced out of the sea at a rate of about 0.4 millimeters per year over the last 2 million years. Once an island, the peninsula is encircled by thirteen wave cut terraces. These broad "benches" were cut out of the rock by ocean waves when the rising land was still at sea level.
Portuguese bend is surrounded by the Abalone Cove and Portuguese Bend Landslides, and stands as a sentinel against the waves of the Pacific Ocean. The strata on the Portuguese Point illustrate layered resistant basalt capped by Altamira Shale that can be seen dipping toward the ocean. The toe contains an abundance of rock formations that create tide pools that are especially evident during low tide. Portuguese Point is illustrative of the geology found on the peninsula.
Portuguese Bend received its name because of the Portuguese whaling company that operated on the peninsula in the middle of the nineteenth century.
December 2000 |