Selsey, East Beach is a 1.7-hectare (4.2-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Selsey in West Sussex, United Kingdom.[1][2] It is a Geological Conservation Review site.[3]
| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
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| Location | West Sussex |
|---|---|
| Grid reference | SZ 860 925[1] |
| Interest | Geological |
| Area | 1.7 hectares (4.2 acres)[1] |
| Notification | 1988[1] |
| Location map | Magic Map |
This site exposes a sequence of marine estuary and freshwater deposits dating to the warm Eemian interglacial. The site has fossils of fauna dating to the early Eemian around 130 thousand years ago, such as straight-tusked elephant, an extinct species of rhinoceros, Dicerorhinus hemitoechus, European pond tortoise, beaver and horse.[4]
This long expanse of shingle is divided by wooden groyne. It is open to the public, it is the largest beach in Selsey, it stretches towards Pagham Harbour to the East and Selsey Bill the West. The Beach has a walkable sea defence interspersed with benches. It is this beach view that inspired the composer Eric Coates to write By the Sleepy Lagoon which became the theme to Desert Island Discs
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Designated Sites View: Selsey, East Beach". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
- ^ "Map of Selsey, East Beach". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
- ^ "Selsey (Pleistocene Vertebrata)". Geological Conservation Review. Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
- ^ "Selsey, East Beach citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 2 April 2019.