The Arboletes-Punta Rey Littoral, Southern Caribbean Coast

Abstract

The Arboletes -Punta Rey littoral is a 5.5-km-long stretch of coast located at the southern Caribbean coast of Colombia, 80 km by car (paved road) to Montería . Geologically, it is located at terrains of the Sinú folded belt, a tectonically active sedimentary wedge evolving under the morphogenetic influence of numerous onshore and offshore manifestations of mud diapirism. It has a tropical climate. During the dry season (December–April), the zone is under the influences of the N–NE Trade winds that generate swells with wave periods between 6 and 9 s and significant wave heights up to 2 m. These waves are strongly modified by the serrated contours of the coastline and are rapidly eroding the beaches and littoral rocky formations of the area. During the wet season, the trade winds are replaced by lighter, 2–4 m/s, S to SW winds that generate seas with significant wave heights of up to 0.6 m. Net sand drift during the year in the area is toward the SW. The Arboletes -Punta Rey landscape is configured by an emerged marine terrace, a diapiric dome with active mud volcanoes, and by cliffs and their associated erosional features including caves, arches, stacks, and scarps of mass movements. These features are cut on sedimentary, highly weathered and densely fractured mudstones and shales, and in poorly consolidated diapiric muds. Besides its geomorphological interest, the Arboletes littoral is an interesting example of historical, kilometric-magnitude erosional coastline changes driven by the combination of natural- and man-induced causes including, in a short-term perspective, the poor geotechnical properties of rocks, bioerosion, absence of rainfall and waste waters management, strong wave action, beach sand mining, and inadequate coastal engineering practices.