Knowledge Bank

The south shore of Lake Erie consists of a variety of environments, ranging from a low cheneer- plain in the west to high bluffs in the Cleveland area. In many instances the bluffs are composed of highly erodible material that encourages varying intensities of shore recession. At the Bay Village study site the beaches are narrow to non-existent in many spots, usually because of updrift structures' interception of much littoral drift supply. The unwise construction of several manmade shore structures throughout the vicinity has contributed to the deficient beach conditions here, and in adjacent areas. The bluffs examined here consist mostly of lake clays, glacial till and occasional beds of limey siltstone averaging a few inches in thickness. Flowage of less indurated material over the face of the bluff tends to conceal many of the lower members of the bluff.