🪸 Dorset and East Devon Coast: New Swanage to Studland Bay
185 million years of Earth's geological history exposed in coastal cliffs and rocks
📌 Fast Facts
- Location: Dorset and East Devon, southern England
- Time span: Triassic through Cretaceous periods, 185 million years
- Key features: Fossil-rich cliffs, sea stacks, wave-cut platforms
- UNESCO inscription: 2001
The Dorset and East Devon Coast is a geological sequence in southern England that spans an uninterrupted 185-million-year record from the Triassic through the Cretaceous periods. The site was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001, recognising its exceptional value in documenting Earth's deep history through continuous rock formations, fossils, and landforms. As of 2026, the coastal cliffs and beaches remain accessible to researchers, educators, and the public, with maintained paths ...