Gristhorpe Bay and Red Cliff
Also within
North Yorkshire County Cleveland Way National TrailKing Charles Way - Filey Brigg to Newport Bridge National Trail
Condition (Natural England)
| Unit | Feature | Condition | Area (ha) | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TA084840 | — | Favourable | 54.87 | 2022-03-01 |
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: Jurassic
Landscape processes: Coastal
Description
Area, 54.4 hectares 134.4 ac Description A nationally important stratigraphic locality for the Middle Jurassic, Gristhorpe Bay is of great historical significance in the development of the study of the Jurassic in Yorkshire. It is the type locality of the Cayton Bay Formation Millepore and Yon Nab Beds and the Gristhorpe Plant Bed and also preserves an important section in the attenuated Scarborough Formation, near the southern limit of its present distribution. The overlying Scalby Formation is also of considerable interest at this locality. Probably the most famous Middle Jurassic plant bed is exposed at Gristhorpe; its prolific flora was a focus of attention for early geologists such as Williamson, Phillips and Young and Birds. The ninety species described from this horizon in the Cloughton Formation include some twenty seven type species. The best known member of this flora is the pteridosperm Caytonia, which has been reconstructed using Gristhorpe specimens. High Red Cliff exposes a thick sequence of Callovian Upper Jurassic rocks from the Cornbrash to the Oxford Clay and is of great importance in interpreting the history of the Yorkshire area during this part of geological time. The cliff exposures show a sequence of Cornbrash, Cornbrash shales, Kellaways Rock, Hackness Rock and Oxford Clay. The Kellaways Rock is particularly well developed here and yields a rich fauna. The Hackness Rock rests uncomfortably upon an eroded surface of the Kellaways Rock, the intervening Langdale Beds, well seen in coastal exposures further north, having been completely removed by erosion in pre Hackness Rock times. This is a critical site for studies of Callovian palaeogeography and is extensively used for geological study and research.