High level shore features of Jersey (Channel Islands) and adjacent areas

Past marine surfaces occur between present low tide and 45 m mean sea level (msl) in the Channel Islands and along adjacent French coasts, particularly on Jersey. A detailed historical review of the early work concerned with the mapping of the range of marine surfaces is supported by detailed levelling surveys including a new one of the cove of Le Pulec in Jersey. The importance of the very large tidal ranges in parts of the area, that between Guernsey and the Baie du Mont-Saint-Michel being the largest in the world for relatively open sea, is shown to have an effect on the height range of present and former sea-levels. This information is applied to make estimates of past tidal ranges related to the outcrop evidence of the high marine surfaces. The survey results are applied to develop a sequence of high marine surfaces which differ in some important respects from those published to date for both the Channel Islands and adjacent French coasts. Discussion of the factors that may affect the altitude and age of the marine surfaces includes consideration of the current debates surrounding the origins