II.

Land and Resources

The general aspect of Somerset is one of well-wooded, green undulating country. It consists mainly of a flat Triassic basin surrounded on three sides by hills, and on the fourth by the Bristol Channel. To the north-east, the limestone Mendip Hills (slightly more than 300 m/1,000 ft at the highest point), are dissected by spectacularly deep narrow valleys, known as “combes”. The gorge at Cheddar is the most famous of these. In this region there are numerous caves, with stalactites and stalagmites, hollowed out of the limestone over many centuries and once inhabited by prehistoric people; Wookey Hole and the labyrinth of caverns at Cheddar Gorge are the best known.

The red sandstone Quantock Hills, to the west, are an outcrop of Exmoor and Devon moorland, and in 1957 became the first area in England to be designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. In the north-west, wild moorland merges into the low Brendon Hills. The Blackdown Hills lie to the south. In the east of the basin is the marshy area of Sedgemoor, dominated by another low range, the Polden Hills. A curiously shaped conical hill, Glastonbury Tor, rises from the marshland close to Glastonbury. There are spectacular cliffs and coves along the coast from the Devonshire-Somerset border to Porlock, where Exmoor meets the sea. The eastern region of Exmoor is less wild and rugged than the central moor, but reaches its highest point (519 m/1,704 ft) at Dunkery Beacon. The principal rivers are the Exe and the Parrett, and the county is well drained by a network of lesser rivers and streams. For much of its north-westerly course towards the Bristol Channel, the Parrett flows through a flat reedy area, drained for cultivation and known as the Somerset Levels. The Levels are extremely important habitats for waterfowl during the winter.

The county is renowned for its mineral springs, which occur principally in the region of Bath and Wells. The Romans mined lead in the Mendips. Coal was mined around Radstock and Midsomer Norton until 1973. There is an abundance of local stone for building, and clay from the Bridgwater area was much used for tile and brick-making. Peat, from the Glastonbury region, is another local resource, although much of its extraction is being phased out for conservation reasons. Wild ponies, red deer, and horned sheep roam Exmoor. Buzzards are often sighted.

Somerset's climate is tempered by the sea, and winters are generally mild. The annual rainfall averages 760-1,000 mm (30-40 in).