River Solent

File:Newport-cowes wb.jpg

The River Medina's estuary and harbour at East Cowes and Cowes is a ria, or a flooded river valley which was previously a feature of the River Solent.

The River Solent is a now-extinct river which during the Paleocene would have flowed around the area which is now the coastlines of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

History

The River Solent became extinct after flooding following the end of the Ice Age, becoming submerged and incorporated into the Solent, a strait of the English Channel that sits between the Isle of Wight and Hampshire. The River Solent's source was the River Frome, and the River Solent's tributaries, the River Test, River Itchen, the River Avon and the River Medina still survive today. Several towns on both the South Coast and the Isle of Wight are built near features of the River Solent - Cowes and East Cowes are built around the mouth of the River Medina, which formed due to the flooding of one of the shallow valleys formed by the River Solent.

Geology

The areas around the River Solent are, like most of Hampshire, made up of chalk and Tertiary (mostly Eocene) clays and sands with minor limestones.