Kent Downs National Landscape, Kent, England, UKi
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Kent Downs National Landscape | National Landscape |
| Kent | County |
| England | Constituent Country |
| UK | Country |
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Type:
Other Languages:
French:
Kent Downs, Kent, Angleterre, Royaume-Uni
German:
Kent Downs, Kent, England, Vereinigtes Königreich
Dutch:
Kent Downs, Kent, Engeland, Verenigd Koninkrijk
Norwegian:
Kent Downs, Kent, England, Storbritannia
Norwegian (Nynorsk):
Kent Downs, Kent, England, Storbritannia
Venetian:
Kent Downs, Inghiltera, Regno Unìo
The Kent Downs National Landscape is a prominent protected landscape in south-east England, extending across much of Kent from the Surrey border to the White Cliffs of Dover. Designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1968 and renamed a National Landscape in 2023, it is valued for its sweeping chalk escarpments, open downland, ancient woodland, and deeply incised dry valleys. Despite its proximity to London and major transport corridors, the Kent Downs retain a strong rural character, with historic villages, sunken lanes, and panoramic views that have long defined this corner of England.
Geologically, the Kent Downs are dominated by Upper Cretaceous Chalk, deposited in warm, shallow seas around 90 million years ago and later uplifted and eroded to form the distinctive escarpment and rolling dip-slope of the North Downs. This chalk geology underpins much of the landscape’s character, producing thin, well-drained soils, dry valleys, and species-rich chalk grassland, as well as acting as an important aquifer feeding springs and rivers. Flint bands within the chalk have been exploited since prehistoric times for tools, buildings, and walls, and chalk itself was quarried for lime and construction.
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Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsCommodity List
This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded from this region.Mineral List
Mineral list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities9 valid minerals.
Rock Types Recorded
Note: data is currently VERY limited. Please bear with us while we work towards adding this information!
Rock list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities
Select Rock List Type
Alphabetical List Tree DiagramDetailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ Calcite Formula: CaCO3 |
| ⓘ Fluorapatite Formula: Ca5(PO4)3F |
| ⓘ Fluorapatite var. Carbonate-rich Fluorapatite Formula: Ca5(PO4,CO3)3(F,O) |
| ⓘ 'Glauconite' Formula: K0.60-0.85(Fe3+,Mg,Al)2(Si,Al)4O10](OH)2 |
| ⓘ Gypsum Formula: CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| ⓘ Jarosite Formula: KFe3+3(SO4)2(OH)6 |
| ⓘ Kaolinite Formula: Al2(Si2O5)(OH)4 References: |
| ⓘ Lepidocrocite Formula: Fe3+O(OH) References: |
| ⓘ 'Limonite' |
| ⓘ Marcasite Formula: FeS2 Description: Small sharp crystal groups and complex twins embedded in chalk. References: |
| ⓘ Pyrite Formula: FeS2 Localities: Description: Small sharp crystal groups and complex twins embedded in chalk. |
| ⓘ Quartz Formula: SiO2 References: |
| ⓘ Quartz var. Chalcedony Formula: SiO2 References: |
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Pyrite | 2.EB.05a | FeS2 |
| ⓘ | Marcasite | 2.EB.10a | FeS2 |
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
| ⓘ | Quartz var. Chalcedony | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| ⓘ | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 | |
| ⓘ | Lepidocrocite | 4.FE.15 | Fe3+O(OH) |
| Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates | |||
| ⓘ | Calcite | 5.AB.05 | CaCO3 |
| Group 7 - Sulphates, Chromates, Molybdates and Tungstates | |||
| ⓘ | Jarosite | 7.BC.10 | KFe3+3(SO4)2(OH)6 |
| ⓘ | Gypsum | 7.CD.40 | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| Group 8 - Phosphates, Arsenates and Vanadates | |||
| ⓘ | Fluorapatite var. Carbonate-rich Fluorapatite | 8.BN.05 | Ca5(PO4,CO3)3(F,O) |
| ⓘ | 8.BN.05 | Ca5(PO4)3F | |
| Group 9 - Silicates | |||
| ⓘ | Kaolinite | 9.ED.05 | Al2(Si2O5)(OH)4 |
| Unclassified | |||
| ⓘ | 'Glauconite' | - | K0.60-0.85(Fe3+,Mg,Al)2(Si,Al)4O10](OH)2 |
| ⓘ | 'Limonite' | - | |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| H | Hydrogen | |
|---|---|---|
| H | ⓘ Glauconite | K0.60-0.85(Fe3+,Mg,Al)2(Si,Al)4O10](OH)2 |
| H | ⓘ Gypsum | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| H | ⓘ Jarosite | KFe33+(SO4)2(OH)6 |
| H | ⓘ Kaolinite | Al2(Si2O5)(OH)4 |
| H | ⓘ Lepidocrocite | Fe3+O(OH) |
| C | Carbon | |
| C | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| C | ⓘ Fluorapatite var. Carbonate-rich Fluorapatite | Ca5(PO4,CO3)3(F,O) |
| O | Oxygen | |
| O | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| O | ⓘ Fluorapatite var. Carbonate-rich Fluorapatite | Ca5(PO4,CO3)3(F,O) |
| O | ⓘ Quartz var. Chalcedony | SiO2 |
| O | ⓘ Fluorapatite | Ca5(PO4)3F |
| O | ⓘ Glauconite | K0.60-0.85(Fe3+,Mg,Al)2(Si,Al)4O10](OH)2 |
| O | ⓘ Gypsum | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| O | ⓘ Jarosite | KFe33+(SO4)2(OH)6 |
| O | ⓘ Kaolinite | Al2(Si2O5)(OH)4 |
| O | ⓘ Lepidocrocite | Fe3+O(OH) |
| O | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| F | Fluorine | |
| F | ⓘ Fluorapatite var. Carbonate-rich Fluorapatite | Ca5(PO4,CO3)3(F,O) |
| F | ⓘ Fluorapatite | Ca5(PO4)3F |
| Mg | Magnesium | |
| Mg | ⓘ Glauconite | K0.60-0.85(Fe3+,Mg,Al)2(Si,Al)4O10](OH)2 |
| Al | Aluminium | |
| Al | ⓘ Glauconite | K0.60-0.85(Fe3+,Mg,Al)2(Si,Al)4O10](OH)2 |
| Al | ⓘ Kaolinite | Al2(Si2O5)(OH)4 |
| Si | Silicon | |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz var. Chalcedony | SiO2 |
| Si | ⓘ Glauconite | K0.60-0.85(Fe3+,Mg,Al)2(Si,Al)4O10](OH)2 |
| Si | ⓘ Kaolinite | Al2(Si2O5)(OH)4 |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| P | Phosphorus | |
| P | ⓘ Fluorapatite var. Carbonate-rich Fluorapatite | Ca5(PO4,CO3)3(F,O) |
| P | ⓘ Fluorapatite | Ca5(PO4)3F |
| S | Sulfur | |
| S | ⓘ Gypsum | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| S | ⓘ Jarosite | KFe33+(SO4)2(OH)6 |
| S | ⓘ Marcasite | FeS2 |
| S | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
| K | Potassium | |
| K | ⓘ Glauconite | K0.60-0.85(Fe3+,Mg,Al)2(Si,Al)4O10](OH)2 |
| K | ⓘ Jarosite | KFe33+(SO4)2(OH)6 |
| Ca | Calcium | |
| Ca | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| Ca | ⓘ Fluorapatite var. Carbonate-rich Fluorapatite | Ca5(PO4,CO3)3(F,O) |
| Ca | ⓘ Fluorapatite | Ca5(PO4)3F |
| Ca | ⓘ Gypsum | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| Fe | Iron | |
| Fe | ⓘ Glauconite | K0.60-0.85(Fe3+,Mg,Al)2(Si,Al)4O10](OH)2 |
| Fe | ⓘ Jarosite | KFe33+(SO4)2(OH)6 |
| Fe | ⓘ Lepidocrocite | Fe3+O(OH) |
| Fe | ⓘ Marcasite | FeS2 |
| Fe | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
Geochronology
Mineralization age: Late/Upper Cretaceous : 100.5 Ma to 66.0 MaImportant note: This table is based only on rock and mineral ages recorded on mindat.org for this locality and is not necessarily a complete representation of the geochronology, but does give an indication of possible mineralization events relevant to this locality. As more age information is added this table may expand in the future. A break in the table simply indicates a lack of data entered here, not necessarily a break in the geologic sequence. Grey background entries are from different, related, localities.
| Geologic Time | Rocks, Minerals and Events | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phanerozoic | |||||||
| Mesozoic | |||||||
| Cretaceous | |||||||
| Late/Upper Cretaceous |
| ||||||
Fossils
There are 18 fossil localities from the PaleoBioDB database within this region.These data are provided on an experimental basis and are taken from external databases. Mindat.org has no control currently over the accuracy of these data.
| Occurrences | 323 |
|---|---|
| Youngest Fossil Listed | 0.01 Ma (Pleistocene) |
| Oldest Fossil Listed | 125 Ma (Early/Lower Cretaceous) |
| Stratigraphic Units | Click here to view 13 stratigraphic units. |
| Fossils from Region | Click here to show the list. |
| Fossil Localities | Click to show 18 fossil localities |
Other Databases
| Wikipedia: | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_Downs |
|---|---|
| Wikidata ID: | Q911860 |
Localities in this Region
- England
- Kent
- Ashford
- Dover
- Folkestone and Hythe District
- Kent
- England
- Kent
- Maidstone
- Detling
- Sevenoaks
- Kemsing
- Tonbridge and Malling
- Maidstone
- Kent
Other Regions, Features and Areas that Intersect
British and Irish IslesGroup of Islands
Eurasian PlateTectonic Plate
- AvaloniaVolcanic Arc
EuropeContinent
UK
- England
- South-East England Sedimentary AreaGeologic Region
This page contains all mineral locality references listed on mindat.org. This does not claim to be a complete list. If you know of more minerals from this site, please register so you can add to our database. This locality information is for reference purposes only. You should never attempt to
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Shakespeare Cliff, Dover, Dover, Kent, England, UK