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Falaise d'Aval striped cliffs near Étretat, Normandy, France
Stripes on the seashore
With their zebra-like stripes and formations shaped like an elephant's trunk and a rhinoceros' horn, these cliffs might make you think you're on safari, even though we're thousands of kilometres from the African savanna. Instead you'll find this tableau along the Alabaster Coast of the English Channel – known here on its southern shore as La Manche ("the sleeve"). Streaks of flint between chalk layers form the dark pinstripes of this Normandy landmark, a surprising accent on this body of water better known for big, blank cliffs of pure chalk.
Stripes on the seashore
With their zebra-like stripes and formations shaped like an elephant's trunk and a rhinoceros' horn, these cliffs might make you think you're on safari, even though we're thousands of kilometres from the African savanna. Instead you'll find this tableau along the Alabaster Coast of the English Channel – known here on its southern shore as La Manche ("the sleeve"). Streaks of flint between chalk layers form the dark pinstripes of this Normandy landmark, a surprising accent on this body of water better known for big, blank cliffs of pure chalk.
This set of precipices on the northern French seashore has spent eons earning its stripes.
© Olimpio Fantuz / Sime / eStock 2026-09-11 08:45:51 :