Danger Point

This article is about the coastal feature in England. For the lighthouse, see Danger Point Lighthouse.

Danger Point is a coastal feature and cliff face near Budleigh Salterton in the County Devon, on the south coast of England.

Location

Danger Point is about 18 kilometres (11 mi) southeast of the city of Exeter and about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) east of Exmouth and lies between the towns of Budleigh Salterton and Sidmouth.

Geology

There are two rock sequences along the coast at Budleigh Salterton, the Pebble Beds and the "Otter Sandstone Formation". In the cliff face it is very apparent that both dip eastward. The "Budleigh Salterton Pebble Beds" are overlain by the sandstones that form the cliffs at Danger Point. Both sediments are markedly red, which indicates that they were formed in a desert in the hot dry climate of in the Triassic Period about 225 million years ago.

The coastal path, south of the village of Otterton on the peninsula of Otter Sandstone, has many viewpoints and headlands from which the cliffs can be seen. However, there is no access to the seaward shore on any of the stretch between the southern tip near Danger Point to Ladram Bay in the north. The vertical cliffs are not interrupted (cut) by streams valleys, hence the lack of shore-access. To study the coast accurately a boat is required.

Fossils from the Triassic period are extremely rare. Although normally only fossil fragments are found, the sandstones at Danger Point have yielded excellent discoveries, such as the Beaked Lizard, known as Rhynchosaur.[1]

References

  1. ↑ "Quick facts about the Jurassic Coast". JurassicCoastline.com. Retrieved 2011-11-18.

See also

Coordinates: 50°37′54″N 3°18′06″W / 50.63165°N 3.30153°W / 50.63165; -3.30153

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