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Jurassic Coast
The Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage Site on the English Channel coast of southern England. It stretches from Exmouth in East Devon to Studland Bay in Dorset, a distance of about , and was inscribed on the World Heritage List in mid-December 2001. The site spans 185 million years of geological history, coastal erosion having exposed an almost continuous sequence of rock formation covering the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. At different times, this area has been desert, shallow tropical sea and marsh, and the fossilised remains of the various creatures that lived here have been preserved in the rocks. Natural features seen on this stretch of coast include arches, pinnacles and stack rocks. In some places the sea has broken through resistant rocks to produce coves with restricted entrances and, in one place, the Isle of Portland is connected to the land by a barrier beach. In some parts of the coast, landslides are common. These have exposed a wide range of fossils, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, scientific or other form of significance. The sites are judged to contain " cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity". To be selected, a World Heritage Site must be a somehow unique landmark which is geographically and historically identifiable and has special cultural or physical significance. For example, World Heritage Sites might be ancient ruins or historical structures, buildings, cities, deserts, forests, islands, lakes, monuments, mountains, or wilderness areas. A World Heritage Site may signify a remarkable accomplishment of humanity, and serve as evidence of our intellectual history on the planet, or it might be a place of great natural beauty. A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fossil Forest, Dorset
The Fossil Forest is the remains of an ancient submerged forest from Jurassic times, located to the east of Lulworth Cove on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, England.Ian WestGeology of the Purbeck Fossil Forest ''Geology of the Wessex Coast of Southern England''. It lies on the Jurassic Coast, on a wide ledge in the seaside cliff. The site is within the Lulworth Ranges and thus has restricted access. Parts of forest can also be seen on the Isle of Portland and in quarries near the town of Weymouth to the west.The Fossil Forest: Range Walks . History Near the end of the |
Axmouth To Lyme Regis Undercliff
The Axmouth to Lyme Regis Undercliffs, also often referred to in the singular as the Undercliff, is a long landscape feature, National Nature Reserve and Site of Special Scientific Interest that connects Seaton and Axmouth with Lyme Regis on the south-west coast of England. Like its namesake on the Isle of Wight, this feature arose as a result of landslips, where a slump of harder strata over softer clay gave rise to irregular landscapes of peaks, gullies and slipped blocks. Because of the resulting difficulty of access and change of land use, the undercliff has become densely vegetated, and has become a rare and unusual habitat for plants and birds.GCR Site: 800 Axmouth to Lyme Regis , South West Grid for Learning Trust From west ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seaton, Devon
Seaton () is a seaside town, fishing harbour and civil parish in East Devon on the south coast of England, between Axmouth (to the east) and Beer, Devon, Beer (to the west). It faces onto Lyme Bay and is on the Dorset and East Devon Coast Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. A sea wall provides access to the mostly shingle beach stretching for about a mile, and a small harbour, located mainly in the Axmouth area. Seaton's recorded population at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census, was 8,413, whilst the Seaton and Beer, Devon, Beer Urban Area that includes Colyton, Devon, Colyton had an estimated population of 12,815 in 2012. The Seaton electoral ward, which includes Beer, Axmouth and Colyton, had a population of 7,096 at the above census. History A farming community existed here 4,000 years before the Ancient Rome, Romans arrived and there were Iron Age forts in the vicinity at Seaton Down, Hawkesdown Hill, Blackbury Camp and Berry Camp. During Roman times this was an i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
River Sid
The River Sid, situated in East Devon, is often claimed to be the shortest complete river in England. It flows for southwards from a source in Crowpits Covert (OSGB36 Grid reference SY138963) at a height of 206 metres above sea level. Thsourceis at the head of a goyle or small ravine. The underlying geology is impermeable silty mudstones and sandstones of the Triassic Keuper marl, overlain with permeable Greensand and clay-with-flints. The junction between the Greensand and Keuper Marl forms a spring line. The river flows through Sidbury and Sidford to Sidmouth and is fed by springs flowing from East Hill and water from the Roncombe Stream, the Snod Brook and the Woolbrook. In Sidmouth the river outflows at the Ham through a shingle bar.''Sidmouth, A History''. Sidmouth, Devon:Sidmouth Museum, 1987 The Sid Vale Association The Sid Vale Association (SVA) is a voluntary conservation charity. It is headquartered in the coastal town of Sidmouth in the English county of Devon. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sidmouth
Sidmouth () is a town on the English Channel in Devon, South West England, southeast of Exeter. With a population of 12,569 in 2011, it is a tourist resort and a gateway to the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. A large part of the town has been designated a conservation area. History The origins of Sidmouth pre-date recorded history. The Sid valley has been in human occupation since at least the Iron Age as attested by the presence of Sidbury Castle, and possibly earlier given the presence of Bronze Age burial mounds on Gittisham Hill and Broad Down. The village of Sidbury itself is known to be Saxon in origin with the Church crypt dating to the seventh century. However, the Sid Valley was divided into two ecclesiastical land holdings, with Sidbury and Salcombe Regis being gifted by King Athelstan to Exeter Cathedral, and Sidmouth, which was part of the manor of Otterton, was gifted by Gytha Thorkelsdóttir (the mother of King Harold Godwinson) to the Benedicti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swanage
Swanage () is a coastal town and civil parish in the south east of Dorset, England. It is at the eastern end of the Isle of Purbeck and one of its two towns, approximately south of Poole and east of Dorchester. In the 2011 census the civil parish had a population of 9,601. Nearby are Ballard Down and Old Harry Rocks, with Studland Bay and Poole Harbour to the north. Within the parish are Durlston Bay and Durlston Country Park to the south of the town. The parish also includes the areas of Herston, just to the west of the town, and Durlston, just to the south. The town, originally a small port and fishing village, flourished in the Victorian era, when it first became a significant quarrying port and later a seaside resort for the rich of the day. Today the town remains a popular tourist resort, this being the town's primary industry, with many thousands of visitors coming to the town during the peak summer season, drawn by the bay's sandy beaches and other attractions. Duri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Old Harry Rocks
Old Harry Rocks are three chalk formations, including a stack and a stump, located at Handfast Point, on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, southern England. They mark the most eastern point of the Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Location Old Harry Rocks lies directly east of Studland, about northeast of Swanage, and about south of the large towns of Poole and Bournemouth. To the south are the chalk cliffs of Ballard Down, much of which is owned by the National Trust. The rocks can be viewed from the Dorset section of the South West Coast Path. Formation The chalk of Old Harry Rocks used to be part of a long stretch of chalk between Purbeck and the Isle of Wight, but remained as a headland after large parts of this seam were eroded away. As the headland suffered hydraulic action (a process in which air and water are forced into small cracks by the force of the sea, resulting in enlarging cracks), first caves, then arches formed. The tops of the arches collapse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orcombe Point
Orcombe Point is a coastal feature near Exmouth, Devon, on the south coast of England. It lies about south of the city of Exeter, southeast of Exmouth town centre and about southwest of Sidmouth. Directly to the west lies Exmouth Beach and to the east is Sandy Bay, a holiday beach, that can be reached either along the coastal path or through the large caravan park. The two beaches are part of a long strip of sand and are connected to each other below Orcombe Point at low tide. Sited high upon the hill, Orcombe Point is marked by the "Geoneedle", which was unveiled by Prince Charles, in 2002, at the inauguration. The artist whose conceived and designed the "Geoneedle" sculpture was Michael Fairfax. He also conceived and designed the "Exeter Riddle" in |
South West Coast Path
The South West Coast Path is England's longest waymarked long-distance footpath and a National Trail. It stretches for , running from Minehead in Somerset, along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, to Poole Harbour in Dorset. Because it rises and falls with every river mouth, it is also one of the more challenging trails. The total height climbed has been calculated to be 114,931 ft (35,031 m), almost four times the height of Mount Everest. It has been voted 'Britain's Best Walking route' twice in a row by readers of The Ramblers' ''Walk'' magazine, and regularly features in lists of the world's best walks. The final section of the path was designated as a National Trail in 1978. Many of the landscapes which the South West Coast Path crosses have special status, either as a national park or one of the heritage coasts. The path passes through two World Heritage Sites: the Dorset and East Devon Coast, known as the Jurassic Coast, was designated in 2001, and the Cornwall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre
The Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre is based in the upstairs floor of a long-disused cement factory on the foreshore of Charmouth in Dorset, England. The centre operates as an independent registered charity within the larger framework of the UNESCO Dorset and East Devon Coast World Heritage Site, known as the "Jurassic Coast". The Jurassic Coast stretches over a distance of , from Orcombe Point near Exmouth, in the west, to Old Harry Rocks, in the east. The coastal exposures along the coastline provide a continuous sequence of Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous rock formations spanning approximately 185 million years of the Earth's history. The localities along the Jurassic Coast includes a large range of important fossil zones. Entry to the centre and all of its displays is free and, as such, the centre is dependent upon money generated from walks and events as well as charitable donations from the public. It has also received Heritage Lottery Fund grants. The centre was set up ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palaeontology
Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossils to classify organisms and study their interactions with each other and their environments (their paleoecology). Paleontological observations have been documented as far back as the 5th century BC. The science became established in the 18th century as a result of Georges Cuvier's work on comparative anatomy, and developed rapidly in the 19th century. The term itself originates from Greek (, "old, ancient"), (, ( gen. ), "being, creature"), and (, "speech, thought, study"). Paleontology lies on the border between biology and geology, but differs from archaeology in that it excludes the study of anatomically modern humans. It now uses techniques drawn from a wide range of sciences, including biochemistry, mathematics, and engineering. U ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
