Editing Cheshire (section)

===Physical===
{{Main|Geology of Cheshire}}

A plain of glacial [[till]] and other [[Fluvioglacial landform|glacio-fluvial sediments]] extends across much of Cheshire, separating the hills of [[North Wales]] and the [[Pennines]]. Known as the [[Cheshire Plain]], it was formed following the retreat of a [[Quaternary glaciation|Quaternary]] [[ice sheet]] which left the area dotted with [[kettle hole]]s, those which hold water being referred to as [[mere (lake)|meres]]. The bedrock of this region is almost entirely [[Triassic]] [[sandstone]], outcrops of which have long been quarried, notably at [[Runcorn]], providing the distinctive red stone for [[Liverpool Cathedral]] and [[Chester Cathedral]].

The eastern half of the county is Upper Triassic [[Mercia Mudstone Group|Mercia Mudstone]] laid down with large [[table salt|salt]] deposits which were mined for hundreds of years around [[Winsford]]. Separating this area from Lower Triassic Sherwood Sandstone to the west is a prominent sandstone ridge known as the [[Mid Cheshire Ridge]]. A {{convert|55|km|mi|0|adj=on}} footpath,<ref>[http://www.cheshire.gov.uk/countryside/Walking/] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100502190858/http://www.cheshire.gov.uk/countryside/Walking/|date=2 May 2010}}</ref> the [[Sandstone Trail]], follows this ridge from [[Frodsham]] to [[Whitchurch, Shropshire|Whitchurch]] passing [[Delamere Forest]], [[Beeston Castle]] and earlier [[Iron Age]] forts.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sandstonetrail.co.uk/ |title=Walking Cheshire's Sandstone Trail |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722134452/http://www.sandstonetrail.co.uk/ |archive-date=22 July 2011  }}</ref>

The western fringes of the [[Peak District]] - the southernmost extent of the Pennine range - form the eastern part of the county. The highest point (county top) in the historic county of Cheshire was [[Black Hill (Peak District)|Black Hill]] ({{convert|582|m|abbr=on}}) near [[Crowden, Derbyshire|Crowden]] in the Cheshire Panhandle, a long eastern projection of the county which formerly stretched along the northern side of [[Longdendale]] and on the border with the [[West Riding of Yorkshire]].<ref>Bradt Guides, [https://www.bradtguides.com/destinations/british-isles/cheshire/stockport-and-cheshire-panhandle/ Stockport & the Cheshire Panhandle], accessed 8 January 2022</ref><ref>AbeBooks, [https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=22650568687 Framed 19th Century Lithograph - Map of Cheshire], showing the Panhandle to the north east of the county, accessed 8 January 2022</ref> Black Hill is now the highest point in the ceremonial county of [[West Yorkshire]].

Within the current ceremonial county and the unitary authority of [[Cheshire East]] the highest point is [[Shining Tor]] on the Derbyshire/Cheshire border between [[Macclesfield]] and [[Buxton]], at {{convert|559|m}} above sea level. After Shining Tor, the next highest point in Cheshire is [[Shutlingsloe]], at {{convert|506|m}} above sea level. Shutlingsloe lies just to the south of [[Macclesfield Forest]] and is sometimes humorously referred to as the "[[Matterhorn]] of Cheshire" thanks to its distinctive steep profile.

{{wide image|Beeston walk.JPG|1000px|align-cap=center|The [[Cheshire Plain]] from the [[Mid-Cheshire Ridge]].}}