The town's beaches and cliffs are noted for fossils. They are part of the Heritage Coast — known commercially as the Jurassic Coast – a World Heritage Site stretching for , from Orcombe Point near Exmouth in the west, to Old Harry Rocks in the east. The coastal exposures provide a continuous sequence of Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous rock formations, spanning some 185 million years of the Earth's history. Localities along the Jurassic Coast include a large range of important fossil zones.