A breaking wave sends Atlantic surf high into the air below a stratified stack rock or sea pillar, one of many sculpted into curious shapes by waves and wind scattered along the rugged Cabo Carvoeiro coastline at Peniche in Leiria District, central Portugal. Much of the sedimentary rock was laid down in the Early Jurassic epoch, up to 200 million years ago.
Cabo Carvoeiro, Peniche, Leiria District, Portugal: Atlantic waves crash into jumbled rocks lying in turquoise seawater below a stratified stack rock or sea pillar, built of layers of sedimentary rock deposited in the Early Jurassic epoch up to 200 million years ago, than sculpted by waves and wind into a curious shape. Cabo Carvoeiro (Cape Coal Carrier in Portuguese), the westernmost point of the Peniche Peninsula in central Portugal, is renowned for its rugged beauty. The best known of the stack rocks is Nau dos Corvos (Carrack of Crows), a vast boulder resembling a giant shipwrecked vessel. Rocks just below the surface of the turbulent sea have always presented serious ricks to shipping and many lives have been lost in shipwrecks along the coast over the centuries. In 1758, an impressive lighthouse, the Farol do Cabo Carvoeiro, was built at the tip of the promontory, above the Nau dos Corvos, to help prevent further loss of life. The lighthouse was rebuilt in 1886 and it now has a quadrangular tower standing 57m (187 ft) above sea level and soaring 27m (88 ft) above the ground. Cabo Carvoeiro and the Berlenga Islands about 10km ( miles) off the coast are havens for diverse sea and bird life and are protected as terrestrial and maritime nature reserves.
Size: 4912px × 7360px
Location: Cabo Carvoeiro, Peniche, Leiria District, Centro Region, Portugal.
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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