Dorset and East Devon Coast- Isle of Portland - World Heritage Sites on Waymarking.com

Portland is a central part of the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site on the Dorset and east Devon coast, important for its geology and landforms. The name of the island is used for one of the British Sea Areas, and has been exported as the name of North American and Australian towns. Portland limestone is still quarried here, and is used in British architecture, including St Paul's Cathedral and Buckingham Palace.


The cliff exposures along the Dorset and East Devon coast provide an almost continuous sequence of rock formations spanning the Mesozoic Era, or some 185 million years of the earth's history. The area's important fossil sites and classic coastal geomorphologic features have contributed to the study of earth sciences for over 300 years.

Justification for Inscription
Criterion (viii): The coastal exposures within the site provide an almost continuous sequence of Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous rock formations spanning the Mesozoic Era and document approximately 185 million years of Earth history. The site includes a range of internationally important fossil localities – both vertebrate and invertebrate, marine and terrestrial - which have produced well preserved and diverse evidence of life during Mesozoic times.

Type: Natural Reference number: 1029

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Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   08/23/2019 fm1906 visited it 08/19/2017 BRISTOLIAN visited it 04/05/2015 SMacB visited it 09/30/2012 Sir Lose-a-lot visited it 07/23/2008 Monkston Madgirl visited it

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