Coastal Processes Landslides Beaches Bays & Headlands Cliff falls		Bays & Headlands The coast around Lulworth Cove demonstrates every stage in the development of bays and headlands and how that development is controlled by the underlying geology. Along this section of coast the rocks have been tilted into a near vertical position. The oldest rocks, the Portland Limestone, provide a barrier to the sea but behind it are progressively softer rocks, Purbeck Limestone, Lower Greensand, Walden Clay and Upper Greensand. The youngest rocks are the Chalk, which, although soft, is massive in thickness.
ANIMATION SEQUENCE Lulworth Cove: a classic site to see how bays and headlands evolve the Lulworth coast was once a solid cliff with a stream running down to the sea The river formed a line of weakness through the hard limestone cliffs Once breached, the softer cliffs behind were rapidly eroded Above: Lulworth today Below: Lulworth tomorrow! Above: The next Durdle Door could well form between Lulworth Cove and Stair Hole		The perfection of Lulworth Cove The rocks have been tilted into a near virtical orientation with the hardest facing the sea Chalk Upper Greensand Wealden Clay & Lower Greensand Purbeck Limestone Portland Limestone Animation landscape generated from Environment Agency LIDAR data The Formation of Lulworth Cove The river that runs into the Cove at one time reached the sea through a cut in the hard Portland Limestone barrier. This breach allowed the sea to erode the limestone. Once the sea reached the softer rocks behind, especially the Wealden Clay, rapid erosion took place. Once the sea reached the massive Chalk, erosion slowed, forming the perfect bay. To the west, the sea has been eroding the Portland Limestone at Stair Hole and the process of bay formation has just begun. Eventually Lulworth Cove and Stair Hole will combine into one larger cove, rather like Man O’ War Cove further along the coast. Click here to see 3D animation of the Formation of Lulworth Cove (1,175Kb) Attention!......These are large files and unless you have fast internet access, will take a very long time to download. You will also require Windows Media Player, (version 6.4.07.1112 definitely works)
		Stair Hole, just west of Lulworth Cove, represents the very start of the process. Eventually it will join with Lulworth Cove to produce a coast like Man O' War Cove, (above)
		West of Durdle Door, three coves have combined while the fragments of Portland Limestone, the Bull, the Cow and the Calf are all that are left from the high hills between the valleys that run towards the sea.
		Natural arches such as Durdle Door form as a result of the softer rocks being eroded away behind the hard limestones, allowing the sea to punch through them. Eventually the arch will collapse to leave a sea stack
Click here to see 3D animation of the Formation of Lulworth Cove (1,175K)