UK - Dover

The White Cliffs of Dover which lie along the shore of England beside the English Channel is an ancient and important English port. It is the port where we start our 12 days cruise to the Baltic Capitals.

Thousands of visitors are drawn to the White Cliff which is often listed as one of the top natural wonders of the world. It was used as a base for a Roman lighthouse when the Romans invaded England, and later as the location of a castle for watching over the English Channel. Although the cliffs are famous for many reasons, it is perhaps their composition that makes them most interesting.

The White Cliffs date back over 136 million years, having formed during the Cretaceous period in the Mesozoic era as the shells and skeletons of billions of tiny sea creatures fell to the bottom of the sea. As the fragments settled over hundreds of thousands of years, they formed layers of chalk, or soft white limestone that became the cliffs. As the chalk sediments built up over time, they formed the three layers of the cliffs: upper, middle and lower. The upper layer is a nodular chalk with flints. The middle is white, nodular chalk. The bottom is glauconitic marl and gray chalk. The sea constantly erodes the base of the cliffs but also washes the chalk, keeping it fresh and bright white.