A soil erosion study of the beach at Rossnowlagh, known officially as Belalt Strand, has been made. The area consists mainly of sandy beach, but also rocky shore platform, sand dunes, grassland, boulder clay cliffs and rock cliffs. Over the last 60 years it has been determined that the central section of the dune front has been eroding at rates up to 0.6 metres (2 ft) per year, with the highest erosion rate between 1951 and 1977. Starting in 1972, short lengths of rock armour were constructed at first in front of the Sandhouse Hotel and with further additions along the shore-line; this stopped the erosion in protected parts but the dune front has a ragged appearance with up to of erosion where half of the sandy shoreline has no protection.