Magilligan is one of the best examples of a sand dune system in Northern Ireland and is notable for several reasons, including its extent and largely unmodified nature, the wide range of plant and animal communities present, and the number of rare vascular and bryophyte species, including the variegated horsetail. No other Northern Ireland site has as great a number of dune grassland and dune slack plant communities. Several notable invertebrate species and communities also occur here, particularly in the dune slacks.
The system extends along a substantial portion of the north coast of Northern Ireland, and is an internationally recognised classical beach-ridge cuspate foreland with active prograding dunes (which also presents a detailed record of Holocene sea-level changes). It is the largest and most intensively studied coastal accumulation site in Ireland and amongst the top such localities in Europe.
Ornithological interest includes great northern diver, red-throated diver, black guillemot and sanderling. Little tern have previously bred at Magilligan Point and it is hoped that they will return.
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