Egmont Bight facts for kids
Egmont Bight is a beautiful, shallow bay located on the southern coast of Dorset, England. It's a special part of the famous Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO World Heritage Site known for its amazing fossils and geology. This quiet spot is a great place to explore nature and see ancient rocks.
The Amazing Geology of Egmont Bight
Egmont Bight is like an open-air geology textbook! The cliffs and beach here show off layers of rock called Upper Kimmeridge shale and mudstone. These rocks were formed millions of years ago from mud and clay at the bottom of an ancient sea.
You can also find some bituminous shale, which is a type of rock that contains a lot of organic matter, almost like a natural oil shale. There are also small, round, calcium-rich rocks called calcareous nodules scattered around. These rocks tell us a lot about what the Earth was like millions of years ago!
Visiting Egmont Bight
Getting to Egmont Bight is a bit of an adventure! The stony beach is mostly accessible only at low tide. You can reach it by walking about 1.0 kilometre (or 0.6 mile) west along the coast. This walk starts from the beach at Chapman's Pool.
It's important to know that there isn't a safe path down from the top of the cliffs. The South West Coast Path runs along the clifftop, but the cliffs at Houns-tout and around the Freshwater Steps promontory are very steep and dangerous. Always stay on marked paths and be careful near cliff edges.
Images for kids
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Egmont Bight
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Stony beach, Egmont Bight
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East end of the beach
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West end of the beach
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East side of the small Freshwater Steps promontory
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Cliff-fall of shale on the beach
