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Downs

  (dounz) pronunciation

Two roughly parallel ranges of chalk hills in southeast England. The North Downs extend about 161 km (100 mi) from west to east; the South Downs, about 105 km (65 mi). Both are sheep-rearing areas.

 

 
 
Columbia Encyclopedia: Downs, North, and
South Downs, parallel ranges of chalk hills, SE England. They rise to 965 ft (294 m) at Leith Hill, Surrey. The North Downs range, extending c.100 mi (160 km) from near Farnham, Surrey, to Dover, Kent, is cut by the Wey, Mole, Darent, Medway, and Stour rivers. The South Downs (c.65 mi/100 km long) extend from near Winchester, Hampshire, to Beachy Head, East Sussex, and are cut by the Arun, Adur, and Ouse rivers. The Weald lies between the two ranges in West Sussex and East Sussex (S) and Surrey and Kent (N). The Downs provide excellent pasturage for sheep; Southdown sheep are well known.


 
Wikipedia: South Downs
South Downs
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Uk_south_seven_sisters.jpg
Country England
Counties East Sussex West Sussex Hampshire
Location south-east England
Highest point
 - location Butser Hill,
 - elevation  m ( ft)
Geology chalk downland
Geology of the South East, Chalk is light green (6)
Enlarge
Geology of the South East, Chalk is light green (6)
The Wealden Anticline.
Enlarge
The Wealden Anticline.

The South Downs is one of the two areas of chalk downland in southern England. The North and South Downs run parallel to each other, and would once have formed part of the same dome-shaped chalk outcrop. (See Southern England Chalk Formation.) Erosion, however, has removed the chalk between the two ridges, forming an area called the Weald.

The South Downs extend about 70 miles (100 km) through East Sussex, West Sussex, and part of Hampshire. The South Downs Way is a bridleway that follows the South Downs. Settlements include Eastbourne with its 164 m high headland Beachy Head, Lewes, Ditchling, Clayton and the nearby Clayton Windmills, Hassocks, Hurstpierpoint and the nearby Wolstonbury Hill, Brighton, Hove, Portslade, Shoreham-by-Sea, Washington, Arundel, and Midhurst.

The most famous cliffs of the South Downs, apart from Beachy Head, are the Seven Sisters, between Eastbourne and Seaford. The highest point on the South Downs is Butser Hill, just south of Petersfield, Hampshire. At 270 m (886 ft) high, it qualifies as one of England's Marilyns.

Special status

Many parts of the South Downs have been designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England.

A national park in the South Downs is proposed, and received support from the government in September 1999. As of 2004, a public inquiry is being held to decide the boundaries of the proposed national park. The designation process is expected to take another two to three years.

In 1923 the Society of Sussex Downsmen (now the South Downs Society) was formed with the aim of protecting the area's unique landscape.

Etymology

Downs is from Old English dun "hill".

See also

Gallery

External links



Coordinates: 50°55′N, 0°30′W


 
 

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Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "South Downs" Read more

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