Downs

Downs, general term for any undulating tract of upland too light in soil for cultivation. Specifically, the term is applied to the system of chalk hills in England, south of the Thames, known as the North and South Downs, which extend from a small range called the Western Downs.

Smooth, rolling lines are characteristic of the Downs. Hillsides are wooded, and the uplands are covered with grazing sod for sheep. The English Downs enclose a once thickly wooded area called The Weald.

The Downs is also the name given to a roadstead, or ships' anchorage, 14 km (9 mi) long and 10 km (6 mi) wide, where the Goodwin Sands form a natural breakwater off the Kent coast.