The major physiographic units in the Kaikoura area are the Peninsula Block, Beach Ridges and Raised Beaches, Hard Rock Areas and the Alluvial Fans. Erosion of the Seaward Kaikoura Mountains and the transfer of the debris to the sea by fan streams have contributed to coastline pro gradation so that a former offshore island, now called the Kaikoura Peninsula, has been joined to the mainland. On the piedmont alluvial plain between the mountains and the sea Otiran Glacial Stage and Holocene fan deposits have covered up older fan surfaces. Stillstands during the tectonic uplift of the Peninsula Block when marine processes cut shore platforms and also higher stands of interglacial sea levels in the Late Pleistocene have contributed to the development of erosion surfaces. Along the coast beach ridges and raised beaches have developed during post-glacial times.