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The varied landscapes of the East of England reflect thousands of years of natural and human activity working on a heritage of geology, soils and landforms. Some of this variety is shown below.
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| An East Anglian Chalk landscape at Barkway, Herts.
The ridge in the background marks an escarpment, developed where the hard Chalk Rock
horizon of the Upper Chalk has resisted erosion. The calcareous, silty soils are suited
to growing barley. A radio mast is making use of the elevated location here, at 148m OD. |
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| A Breckland heath landscape at Wretham, Norfolk.
Thin sandy glacial and aeolian 'drift' over chalk bedrock gives the Breckland a distinctive
mosaic of acidic and chalky soils, which support a diverse flora. Traditionally such heaths
were farmed as sheep walks and rabbit warrens. This land is used for grazing sheep, and is
part of STANTA military training area. |
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| An Essex coastal lowland landscape, with a view over the Blackwater estuary
to the Dengie peninsula. The soils are heavy, impermeable London Clay, often waterlogged in winter. Bradwell
nuclear power station can be seen in the distance. This landscape is likely to be modified in the future by rising
sea levels. |
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| A Fenland landscape at Fodder Fen, near Littleport, Cambs. Peat soils of
freshwater origin overlie marine silts and clays deposited in an estuarine environment over 4,000 years ago.
Loose, fertile peat soils make this a prime area for growing vegetables and cereals, although peat shrinkage
due to drainage is bringing less fertile subsoils closer to the surface. |
The variety of the region's landscapes has been summarised as a series of twenty-one
National Character Areas. These are based on the geodiversity of each area, and also include historical and cultural factors such as settlement and landuse. They provide a useful guide to the region's local distinctiveness.
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The National
Character Area map for the East of
England.
Click on map or links below to find out
more about each Area.
© Crown copyright. All rights reserved. Natural England 100046223 2009 |
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The landscape is made up of an intricate mosaic
of different soils, giving the region much of
its natural character, and supporting varied
wildlife habitats and types of agriculture. They
represent ten thousand years of development
since the last Ice Age, though some of the
region’s soils may be even older and show
influence of weathering dating back to earlier,
warm interglacial periods.
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A brown calcareous earth soil over chalk at Warden Hill, near Luton, Beds. |
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A coarse brown loamy soil at Beetley, central Norfolk. It is developed on gravelly glacial till. |
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A brown sand soil showing properties of a podzol, at Westleton Heath, Suffolk. |
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Example of a soil map covering parts of
Norfolk and Suffolk.
Find out more about the soils in your
area by clicking on this map and
visiting the National Soil Resources
Institute’s Soilscapes Viewer.
Picture copyright NATMAP soilscapes ©
Cranfield University (NSRI) and the
Controller of HMSO 2009. OS Crown copyright. All rights reserved.
Defra 10001 8880 2008. |
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Over the centuries, human activity has shaped
and transformed our natural heritage of soils
and landforms into the settled landscapes we see
today, with all their variations in human
land-use. These patterned landscapes have been
characterised as thirty-one Landscape Character
Types.
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