The Town of Nags Head is temporarily closing the Grey Eagle public beach access due to 10-foot erosion cliffs near Jennette’s Pier.

The sand ledge, called an escarpment, isn’t unusual but is unstable, leading to the public access closure, said town spokeswoman Roberta Thuman. The town doesn’t have equipment to level the ledge.

“Escarpments like this tend to occur on the beaches here after long periods of northeast and east winds,” Thuman said in an email. “Thankfully, this is impacting a small area which has a high dune that has built and continues to protect property.

“These large dunes are helping in that regard.  With a return to the more prevailing southwest winds we should see this level out some.”

See more photos and read more about the vertical cliffs in Wednesday’s print edition of The Coastland Times.