Landscape Types : Chalk Landscapes : The Chalk Uplands
2.1 The Chalk Uplands
Key characteristic features
• Broad, rolling upland relief forming an elevated plateau dipping to
the south
• Gently rounded concave-convex slope profiles
• Expansive, rhythmic scale
• Some prehistoric earthworks, most prominent on ridges
The chalk uplands landscape character areas include much of the chalk dip slopes. This is an expansive, rolling upland landscape characterised by the gently rounded concave-convex slopes typical of chalk relief.
The landform dips gradually towards the south but the combined effects of structural folding and differential erosion have produced an uneven slope, carved into a variety of sweeping forms by extensive dry valley systems.
Towards the dip slope margins, a line of hills and ridges forms an intermittent, but visually prominent secondary escarpment which is thought to result from variations in the resistance of the different types of chalk which outcrop on the dip slope.
The chalk upland landscape is divided into two landscape types:
• Open east chalk uplands
• Enclosed west chalk uplands
This subdivision reflects the marked variation in patterns of land use and vegetation cover between the chalk uplands to the west of the Arun valley and those to the east. The former are characterised by a varied patchwork of extensive woodland and farmland while the latter are predominantly large fields with an exposed, windswept character.
