Geology Of South Dorset And SouthEast Devon Memoir

The outstanding Jurassic Coast of south-east Devon and south Dorset is famous for its rich variety of fossils, found especially in the Lower Jurassic rocks around Lyme Regis and Charmouth. Many scientifically important specimens
have come from these crumbling mudstone cliffs, including marine reptiles first made famous by the work of the 19th century Lyme Regis fossil collector Mary Anning. The coast was granted World Heritage status in December 2001.
Some 200 million years of geological time are represented here, from the Late Permian to the Quaternary. The geology is complex and varied and includes many ancient environments, from arid desert to subtropical seas and cold
periglacial conditions. Geology has also been of high importance to the regions economy: Portland Stone and Purbeck Marble from Dorset were used in many great cathedrals and civic buildings, while the Wytch Farm Oilfield is the largest onshore oilfield in the UK. Landslips, both active and dormant, occur in a variety of forms
unrivalled in the UK. This memoir provides a complete account of the geology and structure of the region in 9 chapters and 161 pages. It includes many diagrams, sections and photographs, a borehole and a fossil inventory, and comprehensive list of references.