Jurassic rock strata

macrolepis, on November 11, 2008, said:

Dear muba, can you give some explanation of what we see here? This is one of the most impressive geological structure I ever saw.

muba, on November 15, 2008, said:

Hi macrolepsis. Thanks for the question. This is Blue Lias clay, much the same as the famous fossil beds exposed on England's south coast at Lyme Regis and at Robin Hood Bay in the north-east.

Here the beds have been tilted by later earth movements and they dip down from the cliffs and lie beneath the Bristol Channel. The beds alternate between soft clays and some harder rocks. The tide here is very strong and runs eastwards - in the direction of the photograph. This has eroded the soft beds exposing the harder beds which have cracked into the 'string of pearls' you see here.

macrolepis, on November 15, 2008, said:

Many thanks for this precise explanation! It makes picture even more fascinating.

I suppose, this picture of Michal Stefanski shows the same white 'hard rock' layer.

Amelia Royan, on January 5, said:

Fantastic geomorphology muba. A great photo showing coastal erosion.

Greetings, Amelia