Dorset a number of small rivers run into the sea along the Dorset coastline; most notable of these are the Char, Brit, Bride and Wey. Most of Dorset's coastline is part of the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site, which stretches for between Studland and Exmouth in Devon. This coast documents the entire Mesozoic era, from Triassic to Cretaceous and is noted for its geological landforms. The Dorset section has yielded important fossils, including Jurassic trees and the first complete Ichthyosaur, discovered near Lyme Regis in 1811 by Mary Anning. The county features some notable coastal landforms, including examples of a
West Bay, Dorset a World Heritage Site which stretches for and includes most of the Dorset coastline. West Bay also lies within the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. West Bay is sited on deposits of river alluvium that indicate a former estuary. There are beaches and cliffs on either side of the harbour. The beaches were previously of a similar size—in terms of their seaward extent—but now East Beach is considerably larger, due to accumulation of finer sediment. East Beach is also designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and forms one end of Chesil Beach, a barrier beach which extends southeast