Burning Cliff
Burning Cliff | |
|---|---|
 View of the cliff | |
  Location in Dorset | |
| Coordinates: 50°38′00″N 2°20′28″W / 50.63320160°N 2.34103861°W | |
| Grid position | SY762815 |
| Location | Dorset, England |
| Highest elevation | 31.1m[1] |
Burning Cliff is a cliff under the White Nothe headland at the eastern end of Ringstead Bay, in Dorset, England. The area is well known for its geology and fossils.
The cliff is to the northwest of White Nothe.bituminous shale, hence the name.[2]
Geologically, Burning Cliff is on a
Purbeck Formation
to the east under Holworth House. There is a footpath on the cliff.
The 1826 fire in the
bituminous shale continued for several years.[4] The fire is thought to have been started by heat caused by decomposing pyrite
, common in bituminous shale. It emitted sulphurous fumes.
National Trust sign for the Burning Cliff, with White Nothe
in the distanceAt the top of the cliff is a
National Trust.[5]
See also
References
- ^ a b "Burning Cliff, West Dorset (DT2 8NG)". getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk. UK: Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
- ^ a b West, Ian M. (6 June 2014). "Burning Cliff, Holworth, Ringstead Bay, Near Weymouth, 1826". Burning Cliffs of Dorset – Oil-Shale Fires. UK: University of Southampton. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help) - ^ Damon, R.F. (1884). Geology of Weymouth, Portland and the Coast of Dorsetshire from Swanage to Bridport-on-the-Sea: with Natural History and Archaeological Notes (2nd ed.). Weymouth: R.F. Damon.
- H.M.S.O.
- ^ a b "Walk – Smugglers Inn – Burning Cliff". UK: South West Coast Path. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
External links
Media related to Burning Cliff at Wikimedia Commons
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