The Kimmeridge Clay is a sedimentary deposit of fossiliferous marine clay which is of Late Jurassic to lowermost Cretaceous age and occurs in southern and eastern England and in the North Sea. This rock formation is the major source rock for North Sea oil. The fossil fauna of the Kimmeridge Clay includes turtles, crocodiles, sauropods, plesiosaurs, pliosaurs and ichthyosaurs, as well as a number of invertebrate species.
Grey cliffs of Upper Kimmeridge Clay above the beach at Egmont Bight
Complete specimen
Caturus furcatus
Cricosaurus
Kimmeridge is a small village and civil parish on the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula on the English Channel coast in Dorset, England. It is situated about 4.5 miles (7.2 km) south of Wareham and 7 miles (11 km) west of Swanage. In 2013 the estimated population of the civil parish was 90.
Kimmeridge main street
Smedmore House
The "nodding donkey" oil pump beside the cliff west of the village
A panoramic view of the village from the north, looking towards the English Channel coast, which forms the horizon. The slopes of Smedmore Hill are to the left, and the Clavell Tower can just be seen on the step-shaped hill above and to the right of the village. The small parish church is on the left edge of the main cluster of buildings. Kimmeridge civil parish covers the village and the land beyond and to the left; the land in the foreground, between the camera and village, is part of neighbouring Steeple parish.
