This site, comprising 155 km of natural coastline, has been inscribed on the World Heritage List because of its outstanding importance for the earth sciences. The coastal exposures within it provide a near continuous, accessible sequence of Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous age rocks, which document almost 190 million years of the history of the earth, spanning the Mesozoic Era. The site includes a remarkable range of internationally important fossil localities, which have produced superbly preserved and diverse evidence of life during Mesozoic times. It also represents an exceptional range of textbook examples of geomorphological features, landforms and processes.
The site has been a crucible of earth science investigations for over three hundred years, and its exceptional diversity of features has helped to foster many major contributions to geology and geomorphology. The site includes stretches of beautiful and inspiring heritage coastline, and its natural beauty is recognised through the whole of the area designated because of its landscape importance and/or scientific interest.