Chevron (land form)

From Wiki.GIS.com

A chevron is a wedge-shaped sediment deposit observed on coastlines around the world. These formations sometimes include tiny fossils from the ocean.

Such formations are generally hypothesised to be created from erosion, glaciers, and other natural phenomena.

The Holocene Impact Research Group hypothesizes that the formations could be caused by tsunamis from meteorite impacts or submarine slides which lift sediment up and carry it hundreds of miles until depositing it on coastlines. This idea is controversial because chevrons are similar to wind-blown landforms found far from the ocean, and because it is unlikely that there have been enough large impacts and landslides to explain the observed chevrons. More recently, evidence is pointing away from this theory. The orientation of chevrons along the southern coast of Madagascar do not line up with what computer models of mega-tsunamis have simulated.

Many chevrons can be found in Australia, but others are concentrated around the coastlines of the world. For instance there are chevrons in Hither Hills State Park on Long Island and in Madagascar.

[edit] References

• New York Times Science Times Article "Ancient Crash, Epic Wave" (11.14.06)
• Chevron-shaped Accumulations Along the Coastlines of Australia as Potential Tsunami Evidences? Science of Tsunami Hazards (2003), Vol. 21, #3, p 174.
• Chevron image from New York Times
• Contrary to recent hypothesis, 'chevrons' are not evidence of megatsunamis

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