|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta Coast |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Caribbean Coast: Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta Coast
South of the Guajira Peninsula, the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta massif is the highest coastal mountain in the world, reaching 5800 m at Pico Bolívar, 60 km from the coastline (Fig. 2). It is composed of Cretaceous metamorphic rocks (predominantly schists and gneisses) and quartzdioritic intrusives of Tertiary age. The Quaternary of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is mainly represented by colluvial-alluvial valley fill and by recent beach deposits.
The coastlines of the northwestern part of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta are indented, reflecting the alternation of rocky headlands and deep, NNW trending tectonically controlled bays (Fig. 6). The headlands are typically 100 to 150-m-high plunging cliffs cut into schists and granites, whereas the embayments front alluvial valley deposits. The bay shores are typically steep, reflective beaches composed of very coarse sand to granules eroded from adjacent cliffs and alluvial deposits. Wide pocket beaches and tombolos are common along sectors with abundant rocky erosional remnants and stacks (Fig. 7).
Figure 6. Landsat image of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Coastlines between B and C are characterized by narrow beaches at the bases of cliffs cut into colluvium, and by small protruding deltas. Between A and B, headlands alternate with structurally controlled bays. PB: Pico Bolívar, 5800 m high; SM: City of Santa Marta; SML: Santa Marta lagoon. Reproduced by permission of Invemar. |
Figure 7. Panorama of Cañaverales Bay showing coarse sand, highly reflective beaches, tombolos, and rocky NW coastline. View to the south. Photo by I. Correa. |
continue to Magdalena River delta and Santa Marta lagoon complex
|
