West Runton Cliffs

West Runton Cliffs
Site of Special Scientific Interest
LocationNorfolk
Grid referenceTG 187 431[1]
InterestGeological
Area17.8 hectares (44 acres)[1]
Notification1984[1]
Location mapMagic Map

West Runton Cliffs is a 17.8-hectare (44-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Sheringham in Norfolk.[1][2] It is a Geological Conservation Review site.[3][4]

This site is important because it exposes a succession of warm and cold stages in the middle Pleistocene between about 2 million and 400,000 years ago, including the notably fossiliferous Cromer Forest Bed. It shows a succession of advances and retreats of the sea, and it is the stratotype for the Cromerian Stage.[5]

The beach is open to the public.

  1. ^ a b c d "Designated Sites View: West Runton Cliffs". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  2. ^ "Map of West Runton Cliffs". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  3. ^ "West Runton (Pleistocene Vertebrata)". Geological Conservation Review. Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  4. ^ "West Runton (Quaternary of East Anglia)". Geological Conservation Review. Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  5. ^ "West Runton Cliffs citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 22 June 2018.