Formed underwater several million years ago, the cliffs are made up of deposits of light-coloured calcareous marine organisms and skeletons of siliceous organisms. They then rose up to become these limestone giants streaked with flint.
Particularly hard-wearing, they seem eternal but are nonetheless fragile and constantly changing: wind, tides, rainwater infiltration, freezing and then thawing weaken them: erosion causes regular landslides and the cliff to retreat.
The flint which has fallen down onto the shore takes on its rounded shape in just a few months thanks to the sea, becoming pebbles that protect the cliffs and the town of Etretat, which is built below sea level.
These giants are at the heart of many legends and ancient histories written into the local toponymy: the “trou à l’homme” (cave) saved a sailor’s life, the “ladies’ chamber” became the grave of three innocent young local women.