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'Durdle Door' (sometimes spelt 'Durdle Dor') is a natural limestone arch on the Jurassic Coast near Lulworth in Dorset, England.

Contents

Geology

Tourism

In literature and popular culture

References

See also

External links

Geology

The arch has formed on a concordant coastline where bands of rock run parallel to the shoreline. Here the rock strata are nearly vertical, and the bands of rock are quite narrow. Originally a band of resistant Portland limestone ran along the shore, the same band which can be seen two miles down the coast forming the narrow entrance to Lulworth Cove. Behind this is a band of various weaker rocks which are easily eroded, and behind this is a stronger and much thicker band of chalk, which forms the Purbeck Hills. The limestone and chalk are much closer together here than at Swanage, to the east, where the distance between them is over . There are at least three reasons for this. First, the beds are highly inclined here, and more gently angled at Swanage. Secondly, some of the beds have been cut out by faulting at Durdle Door; and thirdly, the area around Durdle Door appears to have been unusually shallow, so a much thinner sequence of sediments were deposited here.

At Durdle bay all except a short stretch of the limestone has been completely eroded away by the sea and the remainder forms a small headland where it has protected the clay behind. At the western end this band of limestone has been eroded through, creating the natural arch.
The isthmus which joins the limestone to the chalk is made of a band of Portland limestone, which is less resistant than the Purbeck beds, a narrow and compressed band of Cretaceous clays—Wealden Clay, sands and chert beds—and then narrow bands of Greensand and sandstone.
In Man o' War bay, the small bay immediately east of Durdle Door the Portland stone has not been entirely eroded away, and at low tide the band of Portland stone is partially revealed.

Tourism

Durdle Door is a popular tourist "honeypot," as it is a short walk from the equally popular Lulworth Cove, and lies on the South West Coast Path. Within walking distance of the car park at Lulworth are these two unique landforms, the remnants of a fossilised forest and examples of common rock types from the Jurassic and Cretaceous. The area is part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site because of its geology, and these factors make the site one of the most visited natural tourist attractions in the country, with the Lulworth estate (see: Lulworth Castle) estimating the number of hiking journeys across Hambury Tout between Lulworth and Durdle Door as being over 250,000 annually.

In literature and popular culture

Several music videos have been filmed at Durdle Door, including parts of Tears for Fears' ''Shout'', Cliff Richard's 1990 Christmas number one ''Saviour's Day'', and Bruce Dickinson's ''Tears of the Dragon''.
In ''Nanny McPhee'', the children go for a picnic on the beach at Durdle Door.
Scenes from the film ''Wilde'' (1997) starring Stephen Fry were shot here.

References

★ Arkell, W.J., 1978. ''The Geology of the Country around Weymouth, Swanage, Corfe and Lulworth, 4th pr.''. London: Geological Survey of Great Britain, HMSO.

★ Davies, G.M., 1956. ''A Geological Guide to the Dorset Coast, 2nd ed.''. London: Adam & Charles Black.

★ Perkins, J.W., 1977. ''Geology Explained in Dorset''. London: David & Charles.

★ West, I.W., 2003. "Durdle Door; Geology of the Dorset Coast". Southampton University. Version H.07.09.03. [1]

See also

★ Bat's Head, to the west

★ Stair Hole

★ List of Dorset beaches

★ Jurassic Coast

External links