Atherfield is a rural location in the south west of the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

, UK. It includes the small settlements of

Atherfield Green Atherfield is a rural location in the south west of the Isle of Wight, UK. It includes the small settlements of Atherfield Green and Little Atherfield, as well as several farms, and is set in largely open farmland. To the south west it is bounde ...

and

Little Atherfield Little Atherfield is a small hamlet in the civil parish of Shorwell, on the Isle of Wight, England. It is near the coast in the Back of the Wight. The Isle of Wight is situated off the south coast of England England is a Countries of t ...

, as well as several farms, and is set in largely open farmland. To the south west it is bounded by the cliffs of

Chale Bay Chale Bay is a bay on the south-west coast of the Isle of Wight, England. It lies to the west of the village of Chale from which it takes its name. It faces south-west towards the English Channel, its shoreline is in length and is gently curvin ...

and

Brighstone Bay Brighstone Bay is a bay on the southwest coast of the Isle of Wight, England. It lies to the south and west of the village of Brighstone from which it takes its name. It faces southwest towards the English Channel, its shoreline is in leng ...

, which are divided by Atherfield Point. The south-eastern part of Brighstone Bay is also sometimes known as Atherfield Bay, and was the site of a former holiday camp, now demolished.

Geology

Atherfield Bay is one of the best sources of Cretaceous fossils, and is one of the places that gives the Wight the nickname "Dinosaur Isle" (see Dinosaurs of the Isle of Wight). The unique land formation on this coast means fossils up to 30 million years old are uncovered. The village serves as the namesake for a species of dinosaur, '' Mantellisaurus atherfieldensis'', of which the species'

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

fossil was found in Atherfield. The bay also marks the landward edge of the Atherfield Ledge, an underwater outcrop that has claimed many ships including the SS Eider and more.

References

{{coord, 50.619, N, 1.352, W, region:GB-IOW, display=title Populated places on the Isle of Wight Shorwell