steep intermittent streams draining the mountain slopes. The second 

 segment, comprising about 8 miles of shore to New Brighton Beach has 

 a general east-west orientation and forms the northern boundary of 

 Monterey Bay. Cliffs range from 30 to 75 feet in height. This segment 

 comprises the principal problem area and is divided into five sections 

 as follows: 



a. West Cliff section extends from the west city limit of 

 Santa Cruz to Cowells Beach. It consists of irregular eroding cliffs 

 of soft shale without protective beaches. 



b. Santa Cruz Harbor section comprises Cowells and Santa 

 Cruz Beaches. These beaches have a general east-west orientation 

 and are wide and stable. No erosion problem exists in this section. 



c. Twin Lakes section includes two cliff portions separated 

 by a barrier beach in front of Woods iand' Schwan Lagoons. The cliffs 

 are subject to erosion by winter wave action, as the winter beaches 

 are too narrow to afford adequate protection. 



d. Del Mar section is similar to the Twin Lakes section. 

 It has three cliff sections and two lagoons. The cliffs are eroded 

 in the winter when beaches are inadequate to dissipate wave energy. 



e. Opal Cliffs - Capitola section, extending from Soquel 

 Point to New Brighton Beach, consists of two cliff sections separated 

 by Capitola Beach at the mouth of Soquel Creek. No beaches exist in 

 front of the cliffs, which are consequently subject to erosion. 



The third segment of the study area lies on the east shore of Monterey 

 Bay, extending in a generally southeastward direction to the mouth 

 of Pajaro River. Sandy beaches, generally 50 to 200 feet wide at 

 high water, are backed by bluffs or sand dunes ranging from 90 to 200 

 feet in height. The shore line in this segment is relatively stable. 

 The cities of Santa Cruz and Capitola with a combined population of 

 about 24,000 are in the central part of the county shore on the north 

 shore of Monterey Bay. The populations of these communities increase 

 about threefold in summer. Their ocean frontages, combined with the 

 intervening county frontage, aggregate about 8 miles and comprise the 

 principal problem area. Of this frontage about 42 percent is publicly 

 owned or in process of acquisition by the State. 



The tides on the ocean shore of the study area have a diurnal 

 inequality, the mean diurnal range being 5.3 feet. The maximum tide 

 is estimated to be about 8 feet above mean lower low water. Character- 

 istic deep-water waves have significant heights ranging from 2 to more 

 than 20 feet and periods ranging from 4 to 20 seconds. The mean height 

 and period are 4 feet and 13 seconds. The prevailing direction of 

 wave approach is from the northwest. Winter storm waves with heights 

 of 10 feet or more usually approach from the southwest quadrant. Beach 



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