The Sea Coast by J. A. Steers

Author:J. A. Steers [Steers, J. A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-00-740622-7
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 1972-03-14T16:00:00+00:00

THE CHESIL BEACH

The most fascinating shingle structure in Great Britain is the Chesil Beach (Fig. 37). It is unlike most others since it consists of one unbroken ridge of shingle extending from Bridport to Portland Island, a distance of 18 miles. At first, for about six miles, it touches the coast, but beyond Abbotsbury it runs in a smooth curve to Chesilton, and leaves between itself and the coast a lagoon, called The Fleet, which varies in width from about 200 to 1000 yards. In the last two miles of this stretch the beach runs out to sea and joins Portland Island to the mainland. Certain measurements of the magnitude of the beach are significant. At Abbotsbury it is about 170 yards wide, whereas at Portland the width is about 200 yards. The height above high-water mark at Abbotsbury is about 22 feet, and reaches 42 feet at Chesilton. From Abbotsbury to Wyke the gradient as measured along the top of the beach is 1 in 8450, whereas from Wyke to Chesilton it increases to 1 in 880. The depth below low-water springs to which the shingle reaches also varies with locality, 6 fathoms at Abbotsbury, 7 at Fleet, and 8 at Portland, where it gives place to sand.2

A characteristic feature of the Chesil is the grading of the pebbles. On the exposed part of the beach they increase in size from north-west to south-east, whilst it is often contended that those below water increase in size in the opposite direction. The shingle has been proved, on its landward side, to rest on a mud floor three to four feet above low water at spring tides. Probably the clay extends to the seaward side, but I think it has not yet been proved in that position. Since great storms still occasionally overtop the Chesil it is not in a completely stable condition. Every now and again the level of the Fleet is much raised.

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