| Durham Coast | |
|---|---|
 Blackhall Rocks on the Durham coast | |
| Location | MAGiC MaP |
| Nearest city | Sunderland |
| Area | 765.41 ha (1,891.4 acres) |
| Established | 1960 |
| Governing body | Natural England |
| Website | Durham Coast SSSI |
TheDurham Coast is aSite of Special Scientific Interest inCounty Durham,England. Starting just North of theRiver Tees estuary it extends, with a few interruptions, northward to the mouth of theRiver Tyne atSouth Shields. Notable locations on the Durham Coast includeHartlepool Headland[citation needed],Seaham,Sunderland Docks andWhitburn Beach.[1]
The area included in the SSSI includes sixGeological Conservation Review sites, includingMarsden Bay, a classic study area for coastalgeomorphology since the 1950s.[2]
The geology of the area is characterised by the exposure on the cliffs and beaches of the dolomite and limestone formed in the latePermian period. The sea cliffs between Trow Pint and Whitburn Bay provide evidence of the changes in sea levels that have occurred in the intervening period.[2]
The SSSI is important both for its flora and fauna. It includes most of theparamaritimeMagnesian Limestone vegetation found in Britain, a vegetation type that is unique to the Durham coast and that differs markedly from the grassland developed on similarstrata elsewhere in lowland Durham. The different habitats have varying flora; the open heathland supportsred fescue,sea plantain andthrift. In more sheltered places, the calcareous grasslands, support a biodiverse range of flowering plants includingpyramidal orchid and such specialities asmarsh helleborine,grass-of-Parnassus,round-leaved wintergreen andbird’s-eye primrose. Another habitat is the dune system and golf course which supports a different assemblage of plants. In some of the dune slacks there are populations ofmarsh orchid andcommon twayblade.[2]
The Durham coast also supports a variety of birds, including nationally important populations ofsanderling, winteringpurple sandpiper and breedinglittle tern. There is also a rich variety of invertebrates, including colonies of the Durham Argus butterfly,Aricia artaxerxes salmacis, and the least minor moth,Photedes captiuncula.[2]