Jurassic Coast cliffs, spanning the Mesozoic, documenting 185 million years of geological history. The site can be best viewed from the sea, when the dipping nature of the rock strata becomes apparent. In East Devon, the coastal cliffs consist of steep cliffs of red sandstone from the Triassic, and at Budleigh Salterton, the gravel cliffs contain red quartzite pebbles which accumulate on the beach below as Budleigh pebbles, locally protected.Further east at Ladram Bay, more sandstone cliffs give rise to spectacular red sandstone stacks. Around Lyme Regis and Charmouth the cliffs are of Jurassic clays and shale, and landslips are common. Chesil
Geological period example the 'Jurassic System' of rocks was formed during the 'Jurassic Period' (between 201 and 145 million years ago). The following table includes all currently recognized periods. The table omits the time before 2500 million years ago, which is not divided into periods. See Geologic time scale#Proposed Precambrian timeline for another set of periods 4600–541 MYA. In a steady effort ongoing since 1974, the International Commission on Stratigraphy has been working to correlate the world's local stratigraphic record into one uniform planet-wide benchmarked system. American geologists have long considered the Mississippian and Pennsylvanian to be periods in their own right