Blackgang Flashcards
Where is Blackgang situated on the Isle of Wight?
Blackgang is situated close to Chale, just West of the Southern tip of the island. It is in between Chale and St. Catherine’s point.
What is the ground make up like at Blackgang?
The cliffs at Blackgang are similar in make up to Chale. They consist of lower greensand, gault clay, upper greensand and chalk. The cliffs in this area are in the region of 200m in height.
Describe the type of failures at Blackgang and give reasons for their occurrence.
Due to discontinuities formed by the greensand, isolated blocks have toppled from the cliff falling on to the gault clay layer. This additional loading has then led to rotational failures and the formation of mud slides. Further down the cliff, slope instability develops as a result of seepage erosion in the Ferruginous Sand but the general high shearing strength of this formation leads to a steep cliff
What has Blackgang Chine theme park had to do in order to save itself from the coastal erosion?
The theme park at Blackgang, on several occasions, has had to move certain attractions of the theme park further inland to save them from the erosion which can reach rates of up to 3.5m per year.
