Economy of Devon of the railways in the 19th century, Devon's economy has been heavily reliant on tourism. The county's economy has followed the declining trend of British seaside resorts since the mid 20th century, with some recent revival. This revival has been aided by the designation of much of Devon's countryside and coastline as the Dartmoor and Exmoor national parks, and the Jurassic Coast and Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Sites. In 2004 the county's tourist revenue was £1.2 billion. The Met Office is in Exeter as is Connaught plc, and Pennon Group, the water company. The Wrigley Company
Geology of Dorset around the Dorset and Devon border, although these may have been transported here with the other river deposits. Chesil Bank a long barrier beach stretching from West Bay to Portland, was created 10,000 years ago, when sea levels rose at the end of the last ice age. The Variscan orogeny is the oldest event for which there is evidence in Dorset, forming a major series of thrust faults in Carboniferous and older rocks. These thrusts trend west–east, dip moderately towards the south and have controlled later basin development and subsequent phases of inversion. During the Permo-Triassic the area was affected