Ramsholt Cliff

{{Short description|Geological site in the United Kingdom}}

{{Infobox SSSI

|image= Ramsholt Cliff.jpg

|image_caption =

|name= Ramsholt Cliff

|aos= Suffolk

|interest=Geological

|gridref={{gbmappingsmall|TM 297 427 }}

|area= 2.1 hectares

|notifydate= 1987

|map=[http://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=sssiIndex&query=HYPERLINK%3D%271001596%27 Magic Map]

}}

Ramsholt Cliff is a {{convert|2.1|hectare|acre|adj=on}} geological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-west of Ramsholt in Suffolk.{{cite web|url= https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteDetail.aspx?SiteCode=S1001596&SiteName=ramsholt&countyCode=&responsiblePerson=&SeaArea=&IFCAArea= |title=Designated Sites View: Ramsholt Cliff | series= Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|access-date = 26 June 2017}}{{cite web|url= http://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=sssiIndex&query=HYPERLINK%3D%271001596%27|title=Map of Ramsholt Cliff|series= Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|access-date= 26 June 2017}} It is a Geological Conservation Review site,{{cite web|url= http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=4174&gcr=512 |title= Ramsholt Cliff, Ramsholt (Neogene) |series=Geological Conservation Review |publisher=Joint Nature Conservation Committee|access-date= 26 June 2017}} and it is in the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.{{cite web|url=http://www.suffolkcoastandheaths.org/assets/AONB-Management-Plan-20132018.pdf|page=76|title=Suffolk Coast & Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Management Plan 2013–2018|publisher=Suffolk Coast & Heaths AONB|access-date=6 August 2016|archive-date=15 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815202035/http://www.suffolkcoastandheaths.org/assets/AONB-Management-Plan-20132018.pdf|url-status=dead}}

This site is very important historically because it was the basis for the distinction of the Pliocene Coralline Crag Formation as a new stratigraphical division by the nineteenth-century geologist, Edward Charlesworth. The well preserved fossils include several unusual species.{{cite web|url=http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1001596.pdf|title=Ramsholt Cliff citation|series=Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|access-date=26 June 2017|archive-date=4 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150504232140/http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1001596.pdf|url-status=dead}}

Most of this steeply sloping site on the bank of the River Deben is inaccessible, but a footpath runs along the top and a track leads to a small area of bank.