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
Llandovery epoch Llandovery epoch In the geological timescale, the Llandovery epoch (from 443.7 ± 1.5 million years ago to 428.2 ± 2.3 million years ago) occurred during the Silurian period. The epoch follows the massive Ordovician-Silurian extinction events; the second largest extinction event after the Permian-Triassic extinction event million of years later. The epoch was named after Llandovery in Wales. The Llandovery epoch is subdivided into three stages: Rhuddanian, Aeronian and Telychian. The Lower Llandovery rocks consist of conglomerates, sandstones and slaty beds. At Llandovery they rest upon Ordovician rocks. These rocks occur with a narrow crop in Pembrokeshire, which curves round