Other geological event

After an unusually cold winter, landslides have begun forming at the popular seaside cliff known as the Dutchman’s Cap (Olando Kepurė), prompting specialists to urge caution while stressing that the erosion is a natural process.
The cliff just outside Klaipėda, one of Lithuania’s most visited natural sites, drew more than 360,000 visitors last year. Erosion causes the cliff to recede by about half a meter annually. Experts say the damage is driven not by sea waves but by groundwater and freezing temperatures.
“Groundwater flows out through the cliff at the Dutchman’s Cap, and that water freezes. When water freezes, it expands slightly, and when spring comes and temperatures rise, the formed ice masses slide down together with mud. We can see those ‘mud tongues’, as people call them,” said Egidijus Jurkus, a group adviser at the Seaside Regional Park.
This winter, described as the coldest in more than a decade, had a greater impact on the cliff.
“The freezing penetrated much deeper into the cliff, so the landslides are significantly larger than what we have been used to seeing over the past decade. Still, this is a natural process. Next year there may be no real winter at all, and then there will be fewer landslides,” Jurkus said.
Despite the accelerated erosion, experts say the cliff itself is not at risk of disappearing anytime soon.
“The Dutchman’s Cap will continue gradually collapsing for several hundred years, supplying sand to the beaches to the north,” said Loreta Kelpšaitė-Rimkienė, a researcher at Klaipėda University.
The cold winter, unusual for Lithuania’s coast, has benefited beaches that in recent years have suffered from strong winter storms.
“This winter was very good if we look at the overall health of Lithuania’s beaches, because the sea was frozen and calm, the shores were not washed away. Now the natural collapse of the Dutchman’s Cap will also bring a significant amount of sand into the sea–shore system,” Kelpšaitė-Rimkienė said.
Regional park specialists say they are reluctant to fence off natural areas but urge visitors to admire the cliff from a safe distance.
“At any moment, a tree could slide down because its roots may already be loosened. We can even see several trees that have fallen. People should always be cautious,” Jurkus said.
How long the intensive erosion continues will depend on weather conditions and could last until mid-summer.
Landslides have also yielded discoveries welcomed by geologists and historians. A mammoth tusk was found near the cliff a couple of years ago, and similar finds have been made in the past.