The white cliffs of Dover

The white cliffs of Dover, immortalized in popular song and verse (by Vera Lynn, Kate Smith, and others), are cliffs facing the Strait of Dover near the major English port town of Dover, in the county of Kent, and form part of the North Downs. The cliff face, which reaches up to 350 feet high, owes its striking façade to its composition of chalk (pure white lime) accentuated by streaks of black flint. File links The following pages link to this file: Albion White cliffs of Dover Categories: Cliffs ... File links The following pages link to this file: Albion White cliffs of Dover Categories: Cliffs ... Dame Vera Lynn, DBE (born March 20, 1917) is a British singer whose career flourished during World War II, when she was nicknamed The Forces Sweetheart. She is best known for the popular song Well Meet Again. ... Kate Smith on the cover of a posthumous 1991 collection 16 Most Requested Songs Kate Smith (Kathryn Elizabeth Smith) (May 1, 1907–June 17, 1986) was an American singer best known for her rendition of Irving Berlins God Bless America. She greeted audiences with Hello, everybody! and signed off... Cliffs on the banks of the River Severn, near Bristol, England In geography, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. ... Satellite image of the Strait of Dover The Strait of Dover (French: Pas de Calais, i. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population - Total (mid-2004) - Density Ranked 1st UK 50. ... Map sources for Dover at grid reference TR315415 Arms of Dover Borough Council This article is about the English port town. ... Kent is a county in England, south-east of London. ... The North Downs in England are a ridge of chalk hills that stretch about 100 mi (160 km) from Hampshire through Surrey and Kent. ... The Needles, part of the extensive Southern England Chalk Formation Chalk is a soft, white, porous form of limestone composed of the mineral calcium carbonate. ... Lime has several meanings: Look up Lime in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Lime (mineral) - a group of calcium compounds and minerals in which they predominate, including: Limestone Agricultural lime - a mineral soil additive Calcium oxide (also quicklime) - a chemical compound Calcium hydroxide (also slaked lime) - a chemical compound Lime (fruit... Pebble beach made up of flint nodules eroded out of the nearby chalk cliffs, Cape Arkona, Rügen Flint (or flintstone) is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline silica rock with a glassy appearance. ...

Close up of the cliffs from the walk along the ridge

The cliffs are composed mainly of coccoliths and trace their origins to the Cretaceous Period, approximately 136 million years ago, when the area between Britain in the west and Sweden/Poland in the east was submerged under deep tropical waters. Subjected to the great pressures of the sea, the emptied skeletons of coral, sponges and other small sea creatures turned to sediment and began to accumulate on the ocean floor. By approximately 70 million years ago, this process had formed a mass of silica-specked chalk covering huge areas between Britain and the Baltic Sea — white cliffs like those of Dover (but smaller) are also found on the Danish islands of Mon and Langeland or the coasts of the island of Rügen in Germany. The chalk layer used to lay high above sea level during the ice ages and in many places additionally was covered with glaciers. After the ice ages, they were exposed to the rising sea. Owing to the exceptional softness of chalk, tidal forces have since then significantly eroded this land mass away, in Dover to form the English Channel. Coccoliths are the individual plates formed by coccolithophores such as Emiliana huxleyi1, and arranged around them in a coccosphere. ... The Cretaceous period is one of the major divisions of the geologic timescale, reaching from the end of the Jurassic period (about 135 mya) to the beginning of the Paleocene epoch of the Tertiary period (65 mya). ... Orders Scleractinia Corals are gastrovascular marine cnidarians (phylum Cnidaria; class Anthozoa) existing as small sea anemone-like polyps, typically forming colonies of many individuals. ... It has been suggested that Porifera/Temp be merged into this article or section. ... Sediment is any particulate matter that can be transported by fluid flow and which eventually is deposited as a layer of solid particles on the bed or bottom of a body of water or other liquid. ... The chemical compound silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is the oxide of silicon, chemical formula SiO2. ... Satellite view of the English Channel The English Channel, also for some time known as the British Sea (French: La Manche, the sleeve) is the part of the Atlantic Ocean that separates the island of Great Britain from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. ...

Evidence of erosion along the cliff top

The cliff face continues to erode at an average rate of one centimeter per year, although occasionally—most recently in 2001—large chunks of the edge, up to several meters at once, will fall into the channel with little warning. Visitors are therefore urged to remain at least five metres back from the edge. Severe soil erosion in a wheat field near Washington State University, USA. Erosion is the displacement of solids (soil, mud, rock, and so forth) by the agents of wind, water, ice, movement in response to gravity, or living organisms (in the case of bioerosion). ...

Behind the cliff face are miles of hidden tunnels that were created during the Dark Ages and later played a role in the defense of Britain during the Napoleonic Wars. The tunnels were later enlarged to become the Secret Wartime Tunnels beneath Dover castle. Petrarch, who conceived the idea of a European Dark Age. From Cycle of Famous Men and Women, Andrea di Bartolo di Bargillac, c. ... A VERY INFORMATIVE PAGE ON THE NAPOLEONIC WARS, GOES VERY FAR IN DETAIL. The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars fought during Napoleon Bonapartes rule over France. ... Dover Castle is situated in Kent and has been described as the Key to England due to its defensive significance throughout history. ...

Shakespeare Cliff marks the point where England most nearly approaches continental Europe. Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population - Total (mid-2004) - Density Ranked 1st UK 50. ... Europe forms the westernmost part of Eurasia. ...

Many different kinds of birds nest on the cliff face, including colonies of kittiwake and peregrine falcon. Species Rissa tridactyla Rissa brevirostris The Kittiwakes (genus Rissa) are two closely related seabird species in the gull family Laridae. ... Binomial name Falco peregrinus Tunstall, 1771 The Peregrine Falcon or, in North America, Duck Hawk (Falco peregrinus) is a medium-sized falcon about the size of a large crow: 38-53 cm (15 to 21 inches) long. ...

In a 2005 poll of Radio Times readers, the cliffs were named as the 3rd greatest natural wonder in Britain. A poll is either an election or a survey of a particular group. ... Radio Times is the BBCs weekly television and radio programme listings magazine. ...

See also

• Seven Sisters, Sussex