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La Jolla

What could be better than waking up to a view of the ocean each morning? Many developers know that the coast is a desirable place for many people to live. They built homes and hotels on the seemingly stable alluvial cliffs. They did not pay attention to the fact that, in some places, ocean waves can erode cliffs at rates of a foot per year .

Severe winter storms in the 1970s caused rapid erosion of the beaches and cliffs along the coast in this area. Homeowners struggled to protect their properties from the ocean by building concrete seawalls. Although, the walls seem to protect their houses, the structures interfere with normal shore patterns and can generate further problems.

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