Coastline

Every mile is controlled by the rocks under your feet and the continual action of the sea, wind, time and tide.

The coast is probably our most dramatic and dynamic environment and there have been some amazing changes since the end of the last Ice Age only 12,000 years ago. Sea level has fluctuated like a seesaw. Imagine being able to walk to France when the English Channel was an enormous river valley. You could have done this as recently as 8,000 years ago because much of the Earth's sea water was still locked up in the polar ice sheets. At the height of the last Ice Age sea level was about 400 feet lower than today and all of Cornwall's rivers cut long deep valleys. As the ice sheets melted sea level rose again submerging woodlands and forests that became fossilised. Our estuaries were flooded to form the deep water rias that now provide the sheltered harbours and anchorages along the south Cornwall coast.

Raised beaches provide evidence of even higher sea levels, some dating back to pre-glacial times. We even have curious glacial debris or erratics left behind from the Ice Age. Then Cornwall had a climate similar to present day Siberia or northern Canada. Rocks were shattered by the freezing conditions and icebergs floated offshore. On land the frost shattered debris, known as Head, accumulated on coastal and valley slopes and massive dust storms deposited layers of fine sand or loess across much of the county.

Experts tell us that sea level is still rising, the climate is changing and Cornwall is still sinking. Parts of Cornwall even bounce by about 4 inches every time the tide comes in and out twice a day, making Cornwall one of the bounciest places in Britain!

So where should you go to see the best geological features that the Cornish coastline has to offer? View our stunning image gallery to find out.