Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
FIG
229.
Natural and man-made features of Area 13.
We will examine Area 13 by considering firstly the present-day river and coastal
systems and then, secondly, the way in which the bedrock pattern has influenced them.
Comparison of the main valley pattern of the Area with the bedrock pattern makes
it clear that the drainage divide provided by the Chalk hills is one of the most important
scenic features. The largest valleys tend to be parallel to the bedrock belts of different
ages, with tributaries and lesser valleys perpendicular to this trend, most obviously on
the southeastern slope of the Chalk hills (Fig. 230). Northwest of the Chalk hills the
main rivers flow northeasterly, towards the coastal zone represented by the edges of
the Fens.
I have chosen five Landscapes as convenient divisions for the discussion of this
Area (Fig. 231). Landscapes
A
to
D
are defined by their underlying bedrock and form
a series of southwest-to-northeast trending zones, each reflecting the persistent, though
very gentle, tilt of the bedrock layers downwards towards the southeast. Landscape
E
is a feature of the surface blanket, rather than the bedrock, and reflects recent coastal
flooding of the lowest areas. For the sake of more detailed examination of certain as-
pects of Landscape
B
and C, I have introduced three sub-areas, labelled in Figure 231
as I, II and III.
