Photo 20 (Return)

View southeast towards Atherfield point from Barnes High, 2001. Cliffs up to 53m high formed of reddish clays and sandstones of the Wealden Wessex Formation fail by rockfall, small rotational slides and mudsliding across narrow terraces. Erosion yields fine sediments that are lost offshore in suspension and sands that contribute to the sandy lower foreshore. Small quantities of gravel are supplied from superficial deposits at the cliff top, but incoming drift probably makes a more important contribution to the gravel upper beach.