Ancient seascapes

Seen from the sea our cliffs present a sandwich of grey, yellow and brown layers. The grey rocks were formed from mud and silt in ancient Jurassic seas over 200 million years ago. The yellow beds of sandstone were once part of an ancient river delta and the top, brown layers of clay and sand were left behind at the end of the Great Ice Age around 10,000 years ago.

This ‘Dinosaur Coast’ is world famous for its geological structures and the many fossils which the rocks contain. Remains of ancient sea creatures such as ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs, ammonites, belemnites and numerous sea shells many all be found in the area. The sandstones have revealed superb fossil plant remains as well as huge numbers of dinosaur footprints.

The attractive pebbles which form the beaches in Robin Hood's Bay and Runswick are derived from the glacial clays, having been carried by the ancient glaciers from as far afield as Scotland, the Lake District and Scandinavia.