Lyme Bay

[1] Other definitions place the boundary somewhere between these two points, including at Dartmouth (used by the Lyme Bay West Marine Character Area[2]) and Berry Head.

As an essentially large, open, sandy bay exposed to the prevailing winds, much suspended sediment (at least near-shore, close to the seabed) exists.

[8]  The reefs in the bay, numerous in the centre and east, are mostly discontinuous, forming a patchwork of low rocky outcrops surrounded by sediment.

[8]  This means that they tend to be covered by thin veneers of sediment as tide and wave action lifts and sweeps saltating sand across them.

The amount of sand will vary, depending on the size of the reef, how high it rises above the surrounding sediment plain, the strength of tidal streams in that part of the bay and how strong the wind has been recently (and thus how big the waves).

Marine life includes the Devon cup coral (Caryophyllia smithii)[9] and pink sea fan (Eunicella verrucosa) .

Rivers that flow into Lyme Bay include the Exe, Otter, Teign, Dart, Sid and Axe in Devon, and the Lim, Char, Brit and Bride in Dorset.