The Shifting Coastline

Human beings are convinced that they have the power to shape the Earth, but in reality it is our own planet that sometimes lets us believe so.

A practical example of natural forces at work appears in this comparison map, where we can see how tidal forces shape the coastline of the Totonacapan coastal area. This is an area of Mexico that has been inhabited since pre-Columbian times.

Here we can see two examples of coastline change:

• the estuary mouth of the Rio Tecolutla, partly occupied by the town that takes its name from the river;
• the estuary mouth of the Rio Bobos.

In the first case you can see how human intervention resists shoreline change on one side of the estuary, while in the second you can see what happens when the force of the sea is left free to act.

Published on 11/08/2022