East Runton Cliffs
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Condition (Natural England)
| Unit | Feature | Condition | Area (ha) | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TG199429 | — | Favourable | 20.59 | 2008-05-08 |
Climate exposure
This is about exposure to a nationwide pressure this habitat type carries — not a verdict on this site's own management.
Coastal habitats are exposed to sea-level rise and storm erosion. Where hard sea defences sit behind them, there's nowhere landward to retreat to — a squeeze that keeps compressing the habitat no matter how well it's managed.
Geology & landscape
Geological Period: Quaternary · Rock Type: Chalk, Conglomerate
Landscape processes: Coastal
Description
Area, 19.7 ha. 48.6 ac. Description The foreshore at East Runton exposes pre Cromerian Lower Pleistocene sediments, including successively 'Weybourne Crag', Pastonian clay conglomerate and marine shell beds, overlain in turn by marine silts Pa II pollen zone. In the cliff can be seen spectacular rafts of chalk of glacitectonic origin i.e. ice transported and highly deformed' Contorted Drift'. The marine Lower Pleistocene deposits, here of pre Pastonian and probable Pastonian age, contain an extensive vertebrate fauna which includes marine fish, voles, carnivores, extinct horse, rhinoceros and elephant and notably several species of 'comb antlered' deer, Euctenoceras. This is the best available locality for fossil vertebrates of this age.