Headlands are small peninsulas that extend the land’s reach into the water, forming an irregular coastline. As waves approach these headlands, they refract in response to a shoaling sea or lake bottom. This bending of waves makes a repeated set of pincers that attack both sides of headlands, wearing the rock away and isolating its most waterward segment. As the headlands erode, features like sea arches and sea stacks begin to form. Sea stacks are erosional remnants of a headland that once stood farther out to sea. If you see a sea stack, you know the previous dimension of the headland.*
Headlands are ephemeral features under the relentless erosive force of waves, and the process by which they erode is analogous to attacks on any human endeavor that stands out against a constant wave of opposition. Almost everyone or every institution in a position of authority projects into the sea of disgruntled humanity. Just as headlands undergo incessant attacks, so leaders undergo them. You can’t, as you know, please everyone. If you want to stand out, you will be exposed to waves that strike your peninsular sides. The attacks, like those of the waves, are rarely head-on. What’s a leader to do?
Whereas it is true that headlands are ephemeral, it is also true that some are composed of rocks more resistant to erosion than others. Soft limestone headlands like Dorset’s Old Harry usually wear away more quickly than durable igneous rocks like Seal Rock in Oregon, but even those harder rocks develop weaknesses like joints (cracks) that make them more susceptible to erosive forces. Regardless of rock durability, relentless waves ultimately wear headlands away.
No leading empire has an indefinite lifespan. Internal cracks can weaken it, and attacks are usually not all-out frontal assaults. Rather, the erosion occurs along sides, isolating the leading edge from the main body of the headland.
Should I draw some lesson from the erosion of headlands? Watch your sides.
*Not familiar with sea stacks? Look up 1) Heligoland’s Lange Anna, 2) Dorset’s Old Harry, 3) Hoy’s Old Man of Hoy, 4) Australia’s Twelve Apostles, or 5) Oregon’s Haystack Rock.
Headlands are ephemeral features under the relentless erosive force of waves, and the process by which they erode is analogous to attacks on any human endeavor that stands out against a constant wave of opposition. Almost everyone or every institution in a position of authority projects into the sea of disgruntled humanity. Just as headlands undergo incessant attacks, so leaders undergo them. You can’t, as you know, please everyone. If you want to stand out, you will be exposed to waves that strike your peninsular sides. The attacks, like those of the waves, are rarely head-on. What’s a leader to do?
Whereas it is true that headlands are ephemeral, it is also true that some are composed of rocks more resistant to erosion than others. Soft limestone headlands like Dorset’s Old Harry usually wear away more quickly than durable igneous rocks like Seal Rock in Oregon, but even those harder rocks develop weaknesses like joints (cracks) that make them more susceptible to erosive forces. Regardless of rock durability, relentless waves ultimately wear headlands away.
No leading empire has an indefinite lifespan. Internal cracks can weaken it, and attacks are usually not all-out frontal assaults. Rather, the erosion occurs along sides, isolating the leading edge from the main body of the headland.
Should I draw some lesson from the erosion of headlands? Watch your sides.
*Not familiar with sea stacks? Look up 1) Heligoland’s Lange Anna, 2) Dorset’s Old Harry, 3) Hoy’s Old Man of Hoy, 4) Australia’s Twelve Apostles, or 5) Oregon’s Haystack Rock.
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