Editing Kent (section)

== Geography ==
{{Main|Geography of Kent}}
[[File:White cliffs of dover 09 2004.jpg|thumb|right|The [[White Cliffs of Dover]]]]
[[File:France manche vue dover.JPG|thumb|right|upright=1.35|View of the White Cliffs of Dover from France]]
[[File:A map of Romney Marsh (1662).jpg|thumb|A map of Romney Marsh "The history of imbanking and drayning" by [[William Dugdale]] (1662).]]

Kent is in the southeastern corner of England. It borders the [[Thames Estuary]] and the [[North Sea]] to the north, and the [[Straits of Dover]] and the [[English Channel]] to the south. France is {{convert|34|km|mi|0|order=flip}} across the Strait.<ref name="msn">{{cite encyclopedia|title=English Channel |publisher=Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2007 |url=http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/RefArticle.aspx?refid=761564966 |access-date=20 April 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080621192208/http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/RefArticle.aspx?refid=761564966 |archive-date=21 June 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The major geographical features of the county are based on a series of ridges and valleys running east–west across the county. These are the results of [[erosion]] of the [[Weald]]en dome, a dome across Kent and [[Sussex]] created by [[geography of the Alps|alpine]] movements 20–10&nbsp;million years ago. This dome consists of an upper layer of [[chalk]] above successive layers of [[Upper Greensand]], [[Gault Clay]], [[Lower Greensand]], [[Weald Clay]], and Wealden sandstone. The ridges and valleys formed when the exposed clay eroded faster than the exposed chalk, greensand, or sandstone.

[[Sevenoaks]], [[Maidstone]], [[Ashford, Kent|Ashford]], and [[Folkestone]] are built on greensand,<ref name="gswik"/> while [[Tonbridge]] and [[Tunbridge Wells]] are built on sandstone.<ref name="stamp"/> [[Dartford]], [[Gravesend, Kent|Gravesend]], the Medway towns, [[Sittingbourne]], [[Faversham]], [[Canterbury]], [[Deal, Kent|Deal]], and [[Dover]] are built on chalk.<ref name="gswik">{{cite book |title=Greensand Way in Kent |publisher=Kent Count Council |year=1992 |isbn=978-1-873010-23-5}}</ref><ref name="stamp">Britain's Structure and Scenery, [[Laurence Dudley Stamp|L.Dudley Stamp]], Pub September 1946, Collins [[New Naturalist]] Series.</ref> The easterly section of the Wealden dome has been eroded away by the sea, and cliffs such as the [[White Cliffs of Dover]] are present where a chalk ridge known as the [[North Downs]] meets the coast. Spanning Dover and [[Westerham]] is the [[Kent Downs AONB|Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty]].<ref name="downs">{{cite web |title=Kent Downs |publisher=KentDowns.org |url=http://www.kentdowns.org.uk/ |access-date=20 April 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070405085109/http://www.kentdowns.org.uk/ |archive-date=5 April 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Wealden dome is a [[Mesozoic]] structure lying on a [[Palaeozoic]] foundation, which can often create the right conditions for coal formation. This is found in East Kent roughly between Deal, Canterbury, and Dover. The [[Coal Measures]] within the Westphalian Sandstone are about {{convert|250|–|400|m|ft|abbr=on|order=flip}} deep, and are subject to flooding. They occur in two major troughs, which extend under the English Channel.<ref name="gkb">{{cite web |title=Geology of Kent and Boulonnais |publisher=The Geology Shop |url=http://www.geologyshop.co.uk/geolkb.htm |year=2000 |access-date=8 August 2009 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091105163401/http://www.geologyshop.co.uk/geolkb.htm |archive-date=5 November 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Seismic activity has occasionally been recorded in Kent, though the [[epicentre]]s were offshore. In 1382 and 1580 there were two earthquakes exceeding 6.0 on the [[Richter Scale]]. In 1776, 1950, and on 28 April 2007 there were earthquakes of around 4.3. The [[2007 Kent earthquake|2007 earthquake]] caused physical damage in Folkestone.<ref name="gquake">{{cite news |title=Quake causes Kent families to flee homes |work=The Observer |location=London |url= https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/apr/29/robinmckie.ameliahill |date=29 April 2007 |access-date=28 April 2007 |first1=Amelia |last1=Hill |first2=Robin |last2=McKie |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070531184452/http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2068090,00.html |archive-date=31 May 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref> A further quake on 22 May 2015 measured 4.2 on the Richter Scale.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/may/22/earthquake-hits-kent-shaking-houses-waking-residents |title=Kent hit by 4.2 earthquake, shaking houses and waking residents |work=The Guardian |location= London |date=22 May 2015 |access-date=7 June 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150607120858/http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/may/22/earthquake-hits-kent-shaking-houses-waking-residents |archive-date=7 June 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> It was centred in the Sandwich area of east Kent at about ten miles below the surface. There was little if any damage reported.

[[File:KentGeologyWealdenDome.svg|thumb|Geological cross-section of Kent, showing how it relates to major towns]]
The coastline of Kent is continuously changing, due to [[tectonic uplift]] and [[coastal erosion]]. Until about 960, the [[Isle of Thanet]] was an island, separated by the [[Wantsum channel]], formed around a deposit of chalk; over time, the channels silted up with [[alluvium]]. Similarly [[Romney Marsh]] and [[Dungeness (headland)|Dungeness]] have been formed by accumulation of alluvium.<ref name="stamp"/>

Kent's principal river, the [[River Medway]], rises near [[East Grinstead]] in Sussex and flows eastwards to [[Maidstone]]. Here it turns north and breaks through the North Downs at Rochester, then joins the estuary of the River Thames near [[Sheerness]]. The Medway is some {{convert|112|km|mi|0|order=flip}} long.<ref name = "medway"/><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/recreation/boating/31577.aspx |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605001515/http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/recreation/boating/31577.aspx |url-status=dead |title=Environmental Agency: River Medway |archivedate=5 June 2011}}</ref> The river is tidal as far as [[Allington, Kent|Allington]] lock, but in earlier times, cargo-carrying vessels reached as far upstream as [[Tonbridge]].<ref name="medway">{{cite book |last=Bowskill |first=Derek |title=Map of the River Medway}}</ref> The Medway has captured the head waters of other rivers such as the [[River Darent]]. Other [[rivers of Kent]] include the [[River Stour, Kent|River Stour]] in the east.

A 2014 study found that Kent shares significant reserves of shale oil with other neighbouring counties, totalling 4.4&nbsp;billion [[Barrel (unit)|barrels of oil]], which then Business and Energy Minister [[Michael Fallon]] said "will bring jobs and business opportunities" and significantly help with UK energy self-sufficiency. [[Hydraulic fracturing in the United Kingdom|Fracking]] in the area is required to achieve these objectives; it has been opposed by environmental groups.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/massive-oil-reserves-lie-under-commuter-belt-in-south-says-report-9424232.html |title=Massive oil reserves lie under commuter belt in South, says report |last=Prynn |first=Jonathan |date=23 May 2014 |work=[[London Evening Standard]] |page=8 |access-date=29 November 2018 |archive-date=27 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181127022608/https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/massive-oil-reserves-lie-under-commuter-belt-in-south-says-report-9424232.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
 		 	
{{See also|List of hills of Kent}}

=== Climate ===
Kent is one of the warmest parts of Britain. On 10 August 2003, in the hamlet of [[Brogdale]] near [[Faversham]] the temperature reached {{convert|38.5|°C|°F|abbr=on}}, at that time the highest temperature ever officially recorded in the United Kingdom. The record still stands as the hottest August day ever recorded.<ref>{{cite web |title=UK Records |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/understanding/uk_records.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090126234856/http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/understanding/uk_records.shtml |archive-date=26 January 2009 |access-date=10 June 2009 |publisher=BBC Weather}}</ref>
{{Weather box
| location = [[Wye, Kent|Wye]], England (1981–2010) data
| metric first = yes
| single line = yes
| Jan high C = 7.4
| Feb high C = 7.4
| Mar high C = 10.3
| Apr high C = 12.9
| May high C = 16.3
| Jun high C = 19.3
| Jul high C = 21.8
| Aug high C = 21.9
| Sep high C = 18.8
| Oct high C = 14.8
| Nov high C = 10.7
| Dec high C = 7.8
| year high C = 14.1
| Jan mean C = 4.5
| Feb mean C = 4.4
| Mar mean C = 6.7
| Apr mean C = 8.7
| May mean C = 12.0
| Jun mean C = 14.7
| Jul mean C = 17.2
| Aug mean C = 17.2
| Sep mean C = 14.6
| Oct mean C = 11.2
| Nov mean C = 7.5
| Dec mean C = 5.0
| year mean C = 10.3
| Jan low C = 1.7
| Feb low C = 1.5
| Mar low C = 3.1
| Apr low C = 4.6
| May low C = 7.7
| Jun low C = 10.2
| Jul low C = 12.6
| Aug low C = 12.5
| Sep low C = 10.5
| Oct low C = 7.7
| Nov low C = 4.3
| Dec low C = 2.3
| year low C = 6.6
| Jan precipitation mm = 71.4
| Feb precipitation mm = 50.3
| Mar precipitation mm = 48.9
| Apr precipitation mm = 49.1
| May precipitation mm = 50.7
| Jun precipitation mm = 48.8
| Jul precipitation mm = 48.2
| Aug precipitation mm = 61.8
| Sep precipitation mm = 55.1
| Oct precipitation mm = 93.0
| Nov precipitation mm = 83.5
| Dec precipitation mm = 80.3
| year precipitation mm = 741.1
| Jan rain days = 12.7
| Feb rain days = 9.6
| Mar rain days = 9.5
| Apr rain days = 9.0
| May rain days = 9.2
| Jun rain days = 7.9
| Jul rain days = 7.7
| Aug rain days = 7.4
| Sep rain days = 8.1
| Oct rain days = 12.1
| Nov rain days = 12.0
| Dec rain days = 12.2
| year rain days = 117.4
| Jan sun = 59.6
| Feb sun = 79.6
| Mar sun = 115.3
| Apr sun = 174.1
| May sun = 205.2
| Jun sun = 200.1
| Jul sun = 213.7
| Aug sun = 210.3
| Sep sun = 152.2
| Oct sun = 118.2
| Nov sun = 71.9
| Dec sun = 49.8
| year sun = 1649.9
| source 1 = <ref>[http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/averages/19812010/sites/wye.html Climate averages 1981–2010] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140324190959/http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/averages/19812010/sites/wye.html |date=24 March 2014 }}. Met Office (19 November 2008). Retrieved on 17 July 2013.</ref>
}}