The Dorset jurassic coast documents the entire Mesozoic era, from Triassic right through to Cretaceous, many important fossils have been found here including the first complete Ichthyosaur and fossilised Jurassic trees.! ## PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU PLAN YOUR VISIT ## The area is very popular with geologists and fossil hunters alike, but despite the location's fossil attraction and spectacular scenery, this is NOT A FAMILY FRIENDLY LOCATION, there is a route from the car park (located at 50.35.773 / 002.03.116)that is clearly marked but once at the cliff top the descent is very steep down to the beach in quite a few places (don't forget you also have to get BACK UP AGAIN..)after heavy rain the clay rich path can become very slippery. There is a new safer path being built that is expected to be finished very soon though. That said the route down in good dry weather can be tackled without issue for people of a reasonable fitness level with good solid footwear (boots essential).
The beach area can be a VERY DANGEROUS place to visit AS REFLECTED BY THE TERRAIN and care should be taken to visit AT LOW TIDE - IDEALLY JUST AS THE TIDE IS RETREATING, please time your visit carefully with the tide tables for the area, in Summer you will have a lot longer to search than in Winter between high tides. walking along the beach you can find yourself cut off by the incoming tide behind you if you visit at the wrong time OR lose track of time while searching,
PLEASE TAKE GREAT CARE - ALSO OF NOTE IS THAT THE CLIFF FACE ITSELF CAN BE UNSTABLE IN PLACES, PLEASE KEEP AWAY FROM THE ACTUAL FACE OF THE CLIFF AND SEARCH TOWARDS THE SEA
If you look out for areas of freshly fallen shale on the beach, this will indicate to you possible risk areas. The above warnings are not meant to spoil your visit, on the contrary they are provided to prepare you for a very enjoyable but most of all SAFE visit to one of the most beautiful yet potentially hazardous areas in Dorset.
The best fossils are those found within the boulders on the floor and on the flat surfaces now uncovered by the sea, It is highly unlikely you will find fossils within the cliff face and as mentioned it is advisable not to search there, due to the area being classified as an SSSI the use of hammers to split the rocks anywhere here is not allowed.
Try turning over random rocks and look for areas that may have been covered for a while, you never know what you might uncover! Also larger rocks lying on the beach that are not able to be moved may well have ammonites crushed into them and should be inspected,
The sheer volume of fossils to be found here in part can be attributed to the frequent collapses of cliff sections here, again it is recommended that you search away from the cliff base (8 meters seems to be accepted as the safe distance)
Fossils can be taken from the site but any that would possibly be destroyed by moving them should be left alone for others to discover. The fossils at Chapman's Pool are mostly Ammonites and Bivalves. The ammonite Pavlovia rotunda in particular is the main attraction for many, largely due to their abundance here and size/quality of specimens. How are fossils formed?
Most fossils are found in sedimentary rocks, those rocks produced by the accumulation of sediment such as sand or mud. Wind and other weathering conditions wash away sediment on land, depositing it in bodies of water. For this reason, fossils of sea creatures are more common than those of land creatures. Land animals and plants that have been preserved are found mostly in sediments in calm lakes, rivers, and estuaries.
The likelihood of any living organism becoming fossils is pretty low. The transition from the living world to the world of rock and mineral is very long and indirect. In the best conditions, fossilization will occur if an animal or plant dies and is quickly covered over with moist sediment (ie sand/clay). This prevents the animal or plant from being eaten by other organisms or from undergoing natural decay through exposure to oxygen and bacteria. The soft parts of an animal or plant decay more quickly than its hard parts. Teeth and bones are therefore more likely to be preserved than skin, tissues, and organs. Because of this fact, most fossils come from the time period dating to almost 600 million years ago, when organisms began to develop skeletons and hard parts.
To claim this Earthcache please complete the following tasks:
1.Take a picture of yourself or your GPS ANYWHERE on the beach at the Pool with the Kimmeridge clay visible in the background, (no need to visit EXACT given coordinates due to similarity of area)
2. Find and photograph a fossil (or fossils) with your gps, and describe it as best you can, features texture etc
3. I have mentioned the 'Kimeridgian' which is 1 period, but please name the 11 periods that form the JURASSIC (there is an information board in the car park mentioned earler with lots of information..),
4.Take a photo of an eroded/crumbling setion of kimmeridge clay and describe how it is affecting the cliff face
Please email me the answers and don't post them in your logs, any logs without photo's to prove visit or information may be deleted.
Fossil paradise.......! - If you should fail to find any fossils, or just fancy seeing some more really impressive ones, the 'Square and Compass' pub in nearby Worth Matravers (it's a DO NOT MISS in itself) has a free and very impressive fossil museum attached to the pub which is highly recommended! - it can be located at 50.35.873 / 002.02.228 and is open during normal pub opening hours,
full details can be found here: http://www.squareandcompasspub.co.uk/Square%20Fossils.html
Take care, and I hope you enjoy your visit !
PLEASE NOTE: I receive a very high number of Earthcache emails, I can’t reply to them all otherwise I’d be doing nothing else all day, as has always been the case there is no need to await a reply from me regarding your answers…. However due to numerous people thinking they can just log these caches without emailing any answers, and/or completing the required tasks these will be picked up, and the logs will be deleted without further communication. To facilitate this Please email your information either before, or AT THE SAME TIME OF LOGGING THE CACHE, Thanks.