Sunday 1 February 2015

Bindon Fossil Forest

Between Mupe Bay and Lulworth Cove is the Fossil Forest. Reached by a steep staircase, down which you descend through geological time, back to the Jurassic land surface of the Fossil Forest ledge. Don't be expecting to see fossilized trees though, that's not what the fossils represent. Rather what you see are the fossilized remains of the algae (through the millenia turned into thrombilites) which once grew around the bases of coniferous trees, probably akin to Cypresses. Like the geology at nearby Bacon hole the stratigraphy lays at 45 degrees from horizontal. Directly above the thrombilite level is a thick band of exposed Broken Beds which allows you to see just how fragile and jumbled these beds are. The pieces stone which form the main constituent of the broken beds appear to have been laid down in bands, and then these bands have been smashed to pieces and those pieces concreted back into bands. I don't know, I'm no geologist.  I do know though, that it's sites like this which make our Jurassic Coast so important.

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