Orłowo Cliff, Sea cliff in Gdynia, Poland
Orłowo Cliff is a sea cliff on the southern coast of Gdynia, Poland, running for about 650 meters along the Bay of Gdańsk and reaching up to around 40 meters above the water at its highest point. The face is nearly vertical in places and is made of moraine deposits, clay sands, and gravel left behind after the last Ice Age.
The coast was shaped during the last Ice Age, which left behind the moraine and clay deposits that now form the cliff. The area has been known as a destination for at least 200 years, and an old inn once called Adlerhorst, meaning Eagle's Nest, is thought to have given the Orłowo district its name, derived from the Polish word for eagle.
A marked path runs along the top of the cliff toward Sopot and is easy to reach on foot from Gdynia Orłowo train station, about a 15-minute walk away. Visitors should stay on the marked trails and keep well back from the edge, especially after rain or during storms, as the slope is prone to landslides.
The cliff loses roughly one meter of land to the sea each year, so its face looks noticeably different from one season to the next. If you look closely at the exposed wall, you can spot rust-colored iron stains and small dark patches of ancient coal mixed into the glacial layers.
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