Walkers between Bowleaze Cove and Redcliff Point, near Weymouth in Dorset, reported the appearance of a landslip on the cliffs on Thursday 14 March 2013, with a section of the cliff 50 m long sinking 2 m from the rest of the cliffs. This has continued to sink over the last few days, and Portland Coastguard are warning people to keep their distance.
The landslip at Bowleaze Cove, Dorset. ITV.
Bowleaze Cove is a popular tourist attraction, which forms part of Dorset's Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. The area is famed for its fossils, particularly of mollusks and reptiles, and like almost all famous fossil-producing localities, is actively eroding, producing a regular supply of new fossil material. The cliffs are made of porous limestone, with the pore-spaces largely infilled with ancient marine clays. When the area is subjected to heavy rains the clays are washed out of the rocks closest to the cliffs, causing them to weaken structurally, and eventually collapse.
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