Jurassic Coast

I am a long, winding stretch of colorful cliffs that hug the sea in the south of England. Waves crash against my rocky feet, sometimes washing away a piece of me and revealing a secret hidden inside. For millions of years, I have been a giant storybook, with each layer of my rock telling a different chapter of Earth’s history. My pages are made of sandstone, clay, and limestone, and they hold the treasures of a world long, long ago. Children run along my shores, their eyes searching for the shiny, swirled shells of ancient sea creatures or the strange shape of a bone turned to stone. They are looking for clues to my past. I am the Jurassic Coast.

My story begins an incredibly long time ago, about 250 million years in the past, during a time called the Triassic Period. The world was hot and dry, and strange reptiles roamed the land. As millions of years passed, the climate changed, and a warm sea covered me. This was the Jurassic Period, which started around 201 million years ago. My waters teemed with amazing creatures. Giant swimming reptiles called Ichthyosaurs, which looked a bit like dolphins, zipped through the water hunting for fish. Plesiosaurs, with their long, graceful necks and bodies like turtles, paddled through the depths. Ammonites, with their beautiful spiral shells, floated everywhere. When these creatures died, they sank to the seafloor and were slowly covered by mud and sand, which hardened into rock over millions of years, keeping them safe for you to find. Later, during the Cretaceous Period, which began around 145 million years ago, some of the last dinosaurs might have walked where my cliffs now stand.

For thousands of years, people lived beside me, but they didn't know about the incredible secrets I held. Then, in the early 1800s, a curious and clever young girl named Mary Anning began to explore my shores in a town called Lyme Regis. Her family was poor, and she sold the fossils she found to help them. In 1811, when she was just 12 years old, she and her brother Joseph uncovered the first complete skeleton of an Ichthyosaur. People were amazed. They had never seen anything like it. Mary didn't stop there. Throughout her life, she found many more amazing fossils, like the long-necked Plesiosaur in 1823 and the winged Pterosaur. Her discoveries were so important that they helped scientists all over the world understand that Earth was once home to incredible creatures that no longer exist. She showed everyone how to read my stony pages.

Today, I am very proud of my history. On December 13th, 2001, I was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which means I am recognized as a special treasure for the whole world to protect and enjoy. Families and scientists still walk along my beaches, their eyes scanning the rocks for a new discovery. Every time a storm washes a piece of my cliff away, a new fossil might be revealed—a bone from a giant reptile or the shiny swirl of an ammonite. I am a reminder that our planet has a deep, wonderful history filled with incredible life. I invite everyone to come and explore, to feel the sea breeze, and to imagine the amazing world that I have kept safe for millions of years.