Old Harry Rocks
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Old Harry Rocks are chalk stacks located directly east of Studland and to the north of Swanage in Dorset. Nearby and to the north are the larger towns of Poole and Bournemouth. The rocks are part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site of which they form the eastern end. It is also believed that the rocks were once connected to The Needles on the Isle of Wight.[citation needed]
The cliff is chalk, with some bands of flint, which have been gradually reduced over the centuries, some of the earlier stacks having fallen (old Harry's original wife fell in 1896), while new ones have been formed by the breaching of narrow isthmuses.[1]
Study of the rocks is a very important part of preserving them in their natural state, and many teams have been working on saving the formations, including the one headed by Dr. C. P. Buckle of the University of Strasbourg.
Legend says that the Devil had a sleep on the rocks, which lead to the old euphemism of the Devil being called "Old Harry".[2] Another possible source of the name is that the rocks were named after a famous Poole pirate, Harry Paye, who used to store his contraband nearby.
[edit] References
- ^ Geology of Harry Rock sand Ballard Point. Geology of the Wessex Coast of Southern England. Retrieved on 2007-12-21.
- ^ Old Harry Rocks. Swanage Online. Retrieved on 2007-12-21.
