Rotes Kliff

A 30-metre wall of red sandstone above the Kampen beach, glowing at sunset

A 30-metre wall of ochre-red moraine stretching about four kilometres along the west coast between Wenningstedt and Kampen, the Rotes Kliff is Sylt's most photographed natural feature. The cliff face glows almost orange in the late afternoon sun and turns deep crimson at sunset — most evenings in summer there is a small crowd on the beach below with cameras pointed up.

The clifftop path runs along the dune ridge above and is part of the long-distance coastal walking route across the island. You can also descend to the beach via the wooden stairs at the Kampen end and walk south along the sand. The cliff is constantly retreating: every year the path is rerouted a little further inland as another slice of clay falls into the sea.

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The cliff is not in fact red sandstone but loamy moraine left by the Saale glaciation around 130,000 years ago — the colour comes from iron oxides bound in the clay. Erosion is constant: the cliff retreats by roughly half a metre every year, and the Kampen Lighthouse at the top of the bluff has had to be moved further inland to keep it from toppling into the North Sea.

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