The key landscape characteristic of this section is a high coastal plateau of carboniferous sandstones and slates known as the Culm Measures. The cliffs are sheer; reaching 140m in some places and are intensely folded and faulted. The sea has sculpted a striking wave-cut platform, which at low tide reveals a rock stratum of folded and faulted ridges. These shores are punctuated occasionally by sandy coves and beaches at the mouths of stream valleys, notably at the aptly named Sandymouth.