LATE QUATERNARY COASTAL INSTABILITY AND SEA-LEVEL CHANGES - NEW EVIDENCES FROM SAURASHTRA-COAST, WESTERN INDIA

Signatures of late Quaternary coastal tectonics vis-a-vis sea level ch anges (land-sea interactions) are well recorded along the cliffy coast of Saurashtra, Western India. We have attempted here to decouple tect onics from sea level changes. A succession of raised terraces and wave -cut notches have resulted from changes in sea level whereas tectonoge nic features are respresented by steep vertical cliff faces, distorted morphology of wave-cut notches and staircase platforms. These feature s are intrinsically related to fracture lineaments which are in keepin g with the general structural setup of the coast. The coastal landform has evolved essentially as a result of late Quaternary tectonics. The last interglacial high sea stand has been estimated at 7m MSL whereas Holocene high sea stand has been masked by neotectonics.