Geology of the Brixton Deverill - East Knoyle district (Wiltshire), 1:10000 sheets ST83NE (Brixton Deverill) and ST83SE (East Knoyle) : part of 1:50000 sheet 297 (Wincanton)
The Brixton Deverill-East Knoyle d i s t r i c t lies at the western endof Salisbury
Plain and encompasses the north-western part of the Vale of Wardour. The
central part of the d i s t r i c t forms part of a dissected plateau developed on
Upper Chalk (Figure 1); this reaches a maximum height of 238 m south-east of
Brixton Deverill. In the north-west, there are prominent escarpments capped
by the Lewes Chalk on either side of the Wylye valley. In the south, the Mere
Fault and associated monoclinal structure play an important part in shaping
the landscape. In the west, the chalk rises steeply on the north side of the
fault from the clay vale to the south. Between West Knoyle and East Knoyle,
the steeply dipping Upper Greensand and Chalk strata give rise to strongly
featured ground.
The principal drainage in the northern part of the d i s t r i c t is
northwards by the River Wylye, the only permanent river on the chalk outcrop
and its tributaries. In the south-central area, drainage is eastwards by a
series of valleys that coalesce just west of Hindon and ultimately join the
River Nadder at Tisbury. In the south, on the clay vale, drainage is southwestwards
by tributaries of the River Lodden, and south-eastwards by
tributaries of the River Nadder. The lowest point in the d i s t r i c t , c.96 m OD,
lies in the southern tract.
Soils developed on the Upper Greensand and most of the Chalk are light
and w e l l drained. However, s o i l s on the West Melbury Chalk, together with some
on the clay-with-flint deposits and Kimmeridge Clay are much heavier and
poorly drained.
Agriculture is a mixture of arable and pasture, with the latter dominant
on the Kimmeridge Clay Vale. There are few woods, with deciduous woods
confined mostly to the clay vale and the relatively newly planted coniferous
plantations on the Chalk and Upper Greensand. Agriculture is the only industry
in the area
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