COUNTRY LIFE
Photo: Shepherd’s Chine by Richard Temple
Eight things you never
knew about chines
C
hines are steep-sided stream
valleys found on the soft, easilyeroded coastline of the Isle of
Wight. There are more than 20 named
chines stretching from Linstone Chine
on the far north-west coast, around the
Needles and St Catherine’s Point, to
Small Hope Chine in Shanklin.
A few years ago the Wildlife Trust
launched a partnership with a number
of other organisations to learn more
about the wildlife, geology, archaeology
and cultural history of the chines and
their surrounding soft cliffs. The project
provided a fascinating glimpse into the
evolution of these unique geological
formations. The chines continue to
develop and evolve on the Island’s
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By Lianne de Mello, Hampshire
& Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust PR
and Communications Officer
coast and provide both challenges and
opportunities for those who live and work
around the Island’s dynamic coastline.
1) Chines are formed by the rapid
erosion of soft clays and sands by water
flowing out to sea. Over time, sea level
has risen and the coastline has been
eroded, retreating to leave a line of cliffs
and cutting short the river valleys. With
the short distance from source to sea, the
force of the water cuts deep into the soft
cliffs producing the steep-sided narrow
gullies we see today.
2) Chines are found only on rapidly
eroding sea cliffs where rainwater drains
into streams or gullies that then head
towards the sea. New chines form on
the coast during periods of rapid erosion
by both sea and rainwater following
prolonged spells of heavy rain.
3) Mammals, such as brown hares and
water voles, are found in the cliff-top
grassland and ditches and streams
leading to the chines.
4) Humans first started living near
the chines about 12,000 years ago. The
chines offered sheltered conditions,
sources of freshwater, and a food supply
of seabirds, fish and wild animals, such
as elk.
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