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Chesil Beach
Chesil Beach (also known as Chesil Bank) is a major shingle beach structure in Dorset, England. Behind the beach is the Fleet, a shallow tidal lagoon. The beach runs for a length of 29 kilometres (18 mi) from West Bay to the Isle of Portland and in places is up to 15 metres (50 ft) high and 200 metres (660 ft) wide. The beach is often identified as a tombolo, although research has revealed that it is in fact a barrier beach.
Chesil Beach and the Fleet are part of the Jurassic Coast (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and the Dorset National Landscape (an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty), and have several conservation designations. Simon Jenkins rates the view of Chesil Beach from Abbotsbury along the coast to Portland Bill as one of the top ten in England.
The name Chesil is derived from chessil (Old English ceosel or cisel), meaning "gravel" or "shingle".
The beach curves sharply at the eastern end, near the village of Chiswell, and forms Chesil Cove against the cliffs of the Isle of Portland, and this protects the low-lying village from flooding. It has been the scene of many shipwrecks and was named "Dead Man's Bay" by Thomas Hardy. The beach provides shelter from the prevailing winds and waves for the town of Weymouth, Dorset, and the village of Chiswell on Portland.
Chesil Beach is almost entirely made of stone shingle, and the typical size of stones reduces along the length of the beach. It is one of three major shingle beach structures in England, the other two being Dungeness in Kent, and Orford Ness in Suffolk.
The eastern limit of the beach as clearly defined by cliffs at Portland, but the western limit is more ambiguous. Today, the beach is interrupted by the harbour breakwaters of West Bay, and this is commonly taken as the western limit. Based on geomorphology, some sources argue that Eype or Golden Cap could be considered the natural western limit of the beach; others use a narrower definition, placing the limit between Abbotsbury and Bexington, on the basis of shingle grading and the beach only having a crest east of this section.
The origin of Chesil Beach has been argued over for some time, and is often identified as a tombolo. Originally it was believed that beach material was from the Budleigh Salterton pebble beds to the west, and later from Portland to the south east.
Research into the geomorphology of the area has revealed that it is in fact a barrier beach which has "rolled" landwards, joining the mainland with the Isle of Portland and giving the appearance of a tombolo. The differences between the pebbles on the beach and nearby sources is now put down to isostatic sea level rise in the Flandrian interglacial. Normally, tombolos are created due to the effects of the island on waves (through refraction) and to sediment transport, which usually produces a beach perpendicular to the mainland rather than parallel to it.
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Chesil Beach
Chesil Beach (also known as Chesil Bank) is a major shingle beach structure in Dorset, England. Behind the beach is the Fleet, a shallow tidal lagoon. The beach runs for a length of 29 kilometres (18 mi) from West Bay to the Isle of Portland and in places is up to 15 metres (50 ft) high and 200 metres (660 ft) wide. The beach is often identified as a tombolo, although research has revealed that it is in fact a barrier beach.
Chesil Beach and the Fleet are part of the Jurassic Coast (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and the Dorset National Landscape (an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty), and have several conservation designations. Simon Jenkins rates the view of Chesil Beach from Abbotsbury along the coast to Portland Bill as one of the top ten in England.
The name Chesil is derived from chessil (Old English ceosel or cisel), meaning "gravel" or "shingle".
The beach curves sharply at the eastern end, near the village of Chiswell, and forms Chesil Cove against the cliffs of the Isle of Portland, and this protects the low-lying village from flooding. It has been the scene of many shipwrecks and was named "Dead Man's Bay" by Thomas Hardy. The beach provides shelter from the prevailing winds and waves for the town of Weymouth, Dorset, and the village of Chiswell on Portland.
Chesil Beach is almost entirely made of stone shingle, and the typical size of stones reduces along the length of the beach. It is one of three major shingle beach structures in England, the other two being Dungeness in Kent, and Orford Ness in Suffolk.
The eastern limit of the beach as clearly defined by cliffs at Portland, but the western limit is more ambiguous. Today, the beach is interrupted by the harbour breakwaters of West Bay, and this is commonly taken as the western limit. Based on geomorphology, some sources argue that Eype or Golden Cap could be considered the natural western limit of the beach; others use a narrower definition, placing the limit between Abbotsbury and Bexington, on the basis of shingle grading and the beach only having a crest east of this section.
The origin of Chesil Beach has been argued over for some time, and is often identified as a tombolo. Originally it was believed that beach material was from the Budleigh Salterton pebble beds to the west, and later from Portland to the south east.
Research into the geomorphology of the area has revealed that it is in fact a barrier beach which has "rolled" landwards, joining the mainland with the Isle of Portland and giving the appearance of a tombolo. The differences between the pebbles on the beach and nearby sources is now put down to isostatic sea level rise in the Flandrian interglacial. Normally, tombolos are created due to the effects of the island on waves (through refraction) and to sediment transport, which usually produces a beach perpendicular to the mainland rather than parallel to it.