8th International Symposium on the Cretaceous System. Field Excursion to Dorset & Isle of Wight

In 2001 the Dorset and east Devon Coast was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as a place of outstanding universal value on the basis of its geological succession, coastal processes and landforms and its place in the history of the development of geology (especially stratigraphy and palaeontology). Extending from Orcombe Point in the west to Studland in the east, this World Heritage Site's 85 miles of coastline contains a record of 185 million years of Earth history. At the time of the proposal being submitted to UNESCO there were discussions about whether the planned site could be extended westwards to Torquay, covering the Permian and the Devonian rocks of Teignmouth, Dawlish and Torquay or eastwards to include the Isle of Wight. For various reasons (mostly non-geological) it was decided not to expand the proposed site further, although the Isle of Wight would have been the natural extension of the site, including more of the Cretaceous succession as well as the marine Cenozoic succession of the Hampshire Basin. This excursion is, in reality, looking at what the expanded site would have included.