The Wind’s Stone Memory

Anyone walking along the beaches of Mazagón is looking at a monument to the Earth’s history. Reaching heights of up to 30 metres, the Acantilado del Asperillo is the most imposing fossilised dune cliff in Europe. Its ochre-yellow and white walls tell the story of a time some 100,000 years ago, when the wind deposited gigantic masses of sand.

Under the enormous pressure of their own weight, cemented together by limestone and seepage water, the dunes fossilised over the course of millennia. Tectonic forces eventually lifted these fossilised giants, whilst the sea continues to gnaw away at their base to this day. This erosion creates the characteristic steep cliffs. The various coloured layers and dark bands in the rock now reveal to researchers, like an open book, when the region was covered by primeval forests and when the sand gained the upper hand. A fascinating natural monument right on the Atlantic coast, which brings the dynamic history of our coasts to life like almost no other place. | Spain