An updated version of this profile is online at nationalcharacterareas.co.uk. This pdf is retained for historical and completeness purposes.
South Purbeck National Character Area (NCA) is a compact but highly diverse landscape whose principal geological strata are expressed in distinct landscapes: the steep Purbeck chalk ridge, gently undulating Corfe and Swan Vales, coastal slope at Kimmeridge, seaward-dipping limestone plateau and gently rolling chalk downland around Chaldon Herring. The entire NCA falls within the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The dramatic 42 km of coast reveals exposures of all these strata creating cliffs, bays, stacks, arches and coves. The beauty of the coast is recognised through Heritage Coast status, while the outstanding geology, geomorphology and palaeontology have been awarded inscription as the East Devon and Dorset World Heritage Site, popularly referred to as the Jurassic Coast.
Further information