English name *Côte d'Alabâtre* Début du XIXe siècle (≈ 1904)
Baptized by English sailors.
Années 1980
End of intensive pebble collection
End of intensive pebble collection Années 1980 (≈ 1980)
Used for construction and industry.
2009
Natura 2000 classification
Natura 2000 classification 2009 (≈ 2009)
Protected Cauchian Littoral.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Key figures
Information non disponible - No key character mentioned
The source text does not mention any specific historical actors.
Origin and history
The Alabâtre coast, located in Normandy, is a 130 km coastline of chalk cliffs interspersed with valleys, stretching from Le Havre to Tréport. Its name, given by English sailors in the 19th century, evokes the milky colour of the sea due to the dissolution of chalk. This unique landscape, shaped by erosion, houses ports like Etretat, Fecamp or Dieppe, nestled in natural echancrus. Since 2009, a part of it has been classified Natura 2000 as a Cauchian coastline.
The geology of the coast reveals chalk strata of the upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian to Senonian), sometimes covered with sandy clay formations. These cliffs, 30 to 120 m high, retreat on average 20 cm per year under the effect of marine and climatic erosion. The flint pebbles, once collected for construction or industry, move along the coast via drift, forming a natural barrier against the assaults of the sea.
The emblematic arches of Etretat, such as the Manneporte or the needle of Aval, result from the combined action of ancient rivers and marine erosion. These more resistant limestone formations survived the retreat of the cliffs. The coastline, marked by an increasing urban patch since the 1960s, attracts people and tourists, accelerating the artificialization of agricultural land at the top of the plateau.
The Alabaster coast also illustrates the challenges of coastal management: receding cliffs, marine submersions and increasing costs of protections (epis, dikes). In the face of rising sea levels, alternative solutions such as de-olderization are envisaged. Its geological, ecological and landscape heritage makes it a major site on the French coast, between natural heritage and anthropogenic pressures.
