Like a lot of beaches on the south-coast, parts of Weymouth's beach are lined with rock armour to prevent erosion (thanks GCSE Geography).
Something I have never seen though is a scattering of rocks covered in a 15mm thick layer of carpet-like material. Does anyone who took Geography a bit further than me know why the occasional boulder is upholstered?
by DiligentFox
16 comments
They must’ve been stoned when they did that..
I wonder if a load of rocks were covered with some sort of material design to prevent erosion some time back? I never heard of this approach though.
It’s warmer on bare feet in winter
I’d guess it’s a sack of cement that’s washed up.
I thought its name was the ‘Occasional Rock’ like they get it out on a nice day. Like an occasional table.
Moulting season. As they grow, they have to shed their existing outer layer.
Did you add the coins for scale? Or were they not yours and you got a free couple of quid for your weird rock experience?
Somewhere for geography students to sit.
If I was to hazard a guess my guess would be that if they’re part of man-made shoreline erosion defences that the rocks have this covering to stop them fracturing during transport by banging against each other.
I have no idea what I’m talking about. But I would like to know.
It got cold.
It’s probably just some liner or sack that has washed up and just happens be covering the wrong, the rest of probably buried under the ground.
With how far up the small stones go, there may have been a huge pile there once. The carpet material may have just been something they laid underneath the pile and has finally emerged. Kinda of like using weed-cloth in your garden, only I don’t think this was intended for weeds. Not sure the intent, honestly. Just my speculation.
Are there any *women* here today?
According to this the rocks are covered in geotextile as part of protecting against coastal erosion:
https://www.rockwatch.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Coastal-defence-at-West-Bay.pdf
More on geotextiles here:
https://abg-geosynthetics.com/markets/coastal-protection/coastal-protection-item/#:~:text=Erosion%20Protection,-When%20used%20in&text=The%20geotextile%20provides%20a%20layer,wave%20action%20and%20storm%20surges.
That link mentions rip rap so I looked that up too:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riprap#:~:text=Riprap%20(in%20North%20American%20English,%2C%20wave%2C%20or%20ice%20erosion.
TLDR: the rocks and the fabric are used in conjunction to protect against coastal erosion.
I’m not sure that the rock in your photo would have been wrapped in the fabric (although possible) and I think it more likely that one rock has got wrapped up in it. The other rocks aren’t covered and the fabric is likely placed underneath and then the rocks spread out on top.
It’s because they aren’t real rocks. It’s a tv set for a show about you
I can guarantee if you put this on facebook in “dull mens group” someone will know the exact thing going on here