Pulpit Rock, Isle of Portland, Dorset-9470

Pulpit Rock is a coastal feature at

Portland Bill Portland Bill is a narrow promontory (or bill) at the southern end of the Isle of Portland, and the southernmost point of Dorset, England. One of Portland's most popular destinations is Portland Bill Lighthouse. Portland's coast has been notorio ...

, the southern tip of the

Isle of Portland An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English. However, there is no clear agreement on what makes an island an isle or its difference, so they are considered synonyms. Isle may refer to: Geography * Is ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Intended to have the appearance of an open bible leaning on a pulpit, Pulpit Rock was formed in the 1870s after a natural arch was cut away by quarrymen at Bill Quarry, and the leaning slab was added. As a quarrying relic, the rock is similar to that of Nicodemus Knob, another quarrying landmark on the island. Pulpit Rock has become a popular tourist attraction on the island and is often photographed. Despite the danger, for many decades it has been a popular place for

tombstoning Tombstoning (or cliff jumping) is the act of jumping in a straight, upright vertical posture into the sea or other body of water from a high jumping platform, such as a cliff, bridge or harbour edge. This posture of the body, resembling a tombsto ...

. Pulpit Rock is also a popular point for

wrasse The wrasses are a family, Labridae, of marine fish, many of which are brightly colored. The family is large and diverse, with over 600 species in 81 genera, which are divided into 9 subgroups or tribes. They are typically small, most of them le ...

anglers. The British record

Ballan wrasse The ballan wrasse (''Labrus bergylta'') is a species of marine ray finned fish from the family Labridae, the wrasses. It is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, where it inhabits rocky areas. Like many wrasse species, it is a protogynous hermaphr ...

was caught there in 1998 by Pete Hegg. The geological succession up from sea level is: Portland Cherty Series (up to the level of the neighbouring quarried platform), then Portland Freestone (the oolitic limestone quarried inland of Pulpit Rock), then a cap of thin-bedded limestones which are part of the basal Purbeck Formation.

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Panoramic view
Headlands of Dorset Isle of Portland Rock formations of England Tourist attractions in Dorset Jurassic Coast {{UK-geology-stub

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