The Tatsukushi Coast
The odd shapes that mark the cliffs, rocks, and ground on the coastline around Tatsukushi have been described in many travelers’ stories from the Edo period (1603–1868) onward. Visitors walking along the mostly flat coast may notice depressions, wrinkles, creases, and other irregularities underneath their feet, as if the ground were a giant carpet that has not been stretched out properly. Many of these forms are thought to be the result of ancient earthquakes and tsunamis, which deformed the land approximately 17 million years ago, when it was still underwater. The Tatsukushi Coast is also noted for its trace fossils. A trace fossil is a fossilized record of something that a living creature once did. The fossils take the form of ancient footprints, burrows, and even animal droppings.