Low Ham
Also within
Condition (Natural England)
| Unit | Feature | Condition | Area (ha) | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ST439290 | — | Favourable | 4.56 | 2012-03-07 |
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 Feature: Raised Beach · Geological Period: Quaternary
Landscape processes: Coastal
Description
Area, 5.06 ha. 12.50 ac. Description This site contains a Pleistocene sedimentary sequence of sands, silts and peats, laid down in the Early Devensian. Mollusca, plant macrofossils and pollen suggest open landscapes but a climate little cooler than that of the present day. There are some signs that the deposits were laid down close to the sea level, which was some four to seven metres above that of the present day; they may correlate with deposits of the' Low Raised Beach' of South West England. The site forms a rare example of deposits of 'interstadial' facies associated with a high sea level; these are of critical importance for British Pleistocene geology.