July 5, 2013

0718 UNITED KINGDOM (England) - Dorset and East Devon Coast (UNESCO WHS)


The cliff exposures along the Dorset and East Devon coast, on the English Channel coast of southern England, named also Jurassic Coast, provide an almost continuous sequence of rock formations spanning the Mesozoic Era, or some 185 million years of the earth's history, reason for which was included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001. The area's important fossil sites and classic coastal geomorphologic features have contributed to the study of earth sciences for over 300 years.

The site shows excellent examples of landforms, including the natural arch at Durdle Door (in the postcard), the cove and limestone folding at Lulworth Cove and an island, the Isle of Portland. Durdle Door (derived from the Old English thirl meaning bore or drill) is privately owned by the Welds, a family who own 50 km2 in Dorset in the name of the Lulworth Estate. The rock strata are almost vertical, and the bands of rock are quite narrow.

About the stamps
The first stamp is part of the definitive series issued in 2011, about which I wrote here. The second stamp belong to a series dedicated to the English novelist Jane Austen, about which I wrote here.

References
Jurassic Coast - Wikipedia
Dorset and East Devon Coast - UNESCO official site
Durdle Door - Wikipedia


sender. Thumper (postcrossing)
sent from Bournemouth (England / United Kingdom), in 15.03.2013

1 comment:

  1. lucky that it has postmark from UK! :))
    Have a nice day! Kun

    ReplyDelete