Burning Cliff
Cliff in Dorset, England / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
Burning Cliff | |
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Coordinates: 50.63320160°N 2.34103861°W / 50.63320160; -2.34103861 | |
Grid position | SY762815 |
Location | Dorset, England |
Highest elevation | 31.1m[1] |
The cliff is to the northwest of White Nothe.[1] From 1826, the cliff smouldered with an underground fire for several years due to bituminous shale, hence the name.[2]
Geologically, Burning Cliff is on a Kimmeridge Clay outcrop.[2] It is immediately west of the fault and Holworth House. The cliff was originally named Holworth Cliff.[3] Today, the cliff consists of landslide, scrubland plants, with the Kimmeridge Clay partially visible. The Kimmeridge Clay above a fault connecting it with the 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.
At the top of the cliff is a Church of England church, St Catherine-by-the-Sea, Holworth. The cliff lies on the South West Coast Path[5] and forms part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. The surrounding area is owned by the National Trust.[5]