The South Downs
by Sam Long
What are the South Downs?
The South Downs is a range of chalk hills
that extends for about 260 square miles across the south-eastern coastal
counties of England from the Itchen Valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy
Head, near Eastbourne, East Sussex, in the east.
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The Geology:
Between 75 and 90 million years ago, this part of the country
was under a shallow tropical sea. It was during this time that the distinctive
chalk ridge of the South Downs was formed, by the build-up of marine deposits,
the downs are made from
sediment, such as sand or mud, which has gradually hardened into rock. It
represents the southern remnant of a huge dome of Chalk stretching across to
Surrey and North Kent. This dome was then worn away mainly by rivers
to form the North Downs, South Downs and the plain of the Weald.
The South Downs Today:
Uniquely combining
a biodiverse landscape with bustling towns and villages, the South Downs
National Park covers an area of over 1,600 km2 and is home to more than 110,400
people. Including the historical city of Winchester.
References:
Interesting to see your map of the Downs and Weald. Wouldn't it be interesting to see a range of maps side by side showing different features of the area so the user could see how one feature affects others eg relationship between geology and dominant vegetation, or between geology and gravel extraction, or between geology and soil pH. From maps like that, a really interesting long list of questions would arise... these would get you and the rest of us thinking more deeply.
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