[Report 1972] / Medical Officer of Health, Ross & Whitchurch R.D.C.

  • Ross and Whitchurch (England). Rural District Council.
Date:
1972
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1972] / Medical Officer of Health, Ross & Whitchurch R.D.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Ross and Whitchurch Rural District The Lowlands These are undulating, with a general elevation of some 200 to 400 feet. They are traversed from north to south by the wide sweeping meanders of the Wye, and are set within a more or less continuous frame of hills. The rocks which form the floor of the basin are for the most part coarse textured sandstones and grits with occasional beds of marl. They are largely drift free and weather down into sandy light to medium loams. It is to these soils that the agricultural individuality of the region is due. The Wye Valley The Wye is almost entirely lowland in its affinities. Its physical conditions consist of a lazily meandering stream, fringing stretches of alluvium liable to flood, and discontinuous spreads of terrace gravel. Its economic significance is fourfold. It serves as a routeway, as a source of water supply, as a centre of attraction for holiday makers and fishermen, and it is an important element in the agricultural economy of the District. The Western Hills These have a generally subdued relief which is frequently tabular in form. They represent the upturned western edge of the sandstone covering of South Herefordshire. The Forest of Dean Fringe This also has a generally subdued relief which is frequently tabular in form. It consists of ragged erosion fretted patches of younger rocks resting almost horizontally on the underlying beds. The Woolhope Dome This also has a generally subdued relief. It represents an upfold of older rocks protruding through the red marls of the lowlands. The rocks of which it is composed consist of alternating beds of lime¬ stone and shale which give rise to a complex scarp and vale topography.