THE 
AMERICAN GEOLOGIST 
Vol. XXII. JULY, 1898. No. i 
WAVE-FORMED CUSPATE FORELANDS.* 
By R. S. Tare, Ithaca, N. Y. 
Nature of the Study. 
In an important paper discussing the origin of cuspate 
forelands, Mr. F. S. Gulliverf divides these land forms into 
three main classes, according to origin, — current (meaning the 
oceanic circulation), tidal and delta. Wind waves and wind- 
formed shore currents are not considered among the effective 
causes. While it is distinctly my opinion that the wind is 
nearly everywhere the chief and most common cause for the 
formation of such shore features, I can do no more here than 
to state this opinion. Nevertheless, whether this personal 
conclusion is too broad or not, wave action must be admitted 
as a fourth cause, and I believe that investigation in the field 
will show that it is the most efficient of the four. The chief 
object of this article is to show that at least some cuspate 
forelands are wave-built. 
I have studied the formation of projecting forelands in two 
places, one on the shores of lake Cayuga, the other in the 
partly enclosed waters of Cape Breton island, north of the 
Nova Scotia peninsula. In the latter place hooks, bars and 
*The work at Cape Breton was done in the early summer of i8q6, and 
the publication was delayed in the hope that I should be able to make a 
more detailed study in i8g7; but this proved impossible, and as I may 
never visit the region again I ha\e thought it well to call attention to 
these deposits. 
tBull.Geol. Soc. Am., vol. VII, 1895-6, pp. 399-422. 
