Poole Bay is a relatively shallow embayment and consists of steep sandstone cliffs and several 'chines' that allow easy access to the sandy beaches below.

Concrete seawalls and groynes allowed the construction of homes and roads on the clifftops, but prevented natural supply of sand and gravel to the shore.

[2] In July 2022, marine archaeologists from Bournemouth University unearthed the relics of a 750 years old medieval shipwreck and its cargo off the coast of Dorset.

Due to the combination of low-oxygenated water, sand and stone, one of the whole sides of the ship was well preserved and the hull was prominently visible, according to archaeologist Tom Cousins.

[3] The area of Poole Bay was predominantly created during the Pleistocene period, when the Solent river ran across the whole of South East Dorset and West Hampshire, out past the Isle of Wight The solid geology of the cliffs, and the seabed beneath Poole Bay, is composed of rocks of the Tertiary Bracklesham Group, consisting of a sequence of fine, medium and coarse sands.