Geodiversity Landscapes: River Valleys

The Cam Valley, lying to the north of the escarpment, contains the main course of the Cam as well as its tributary, the Granta. Both receive much of their water from chalk springs that line the scarp slope as does the Cam’s other main tributary, the River Rhee, which flows through the Whaddon Apron, and the streams that flow down into the Lode Apron. The Kennett Valley, in the east, is also fed by chalk springs that flow into the Rivers Snail and Kennett. An old course of the River Cam flowed north west to join the Ouse and has left a large area of gravels, the North Cambridge Terraces, over the bedrock.

The Great Ouse Valley winds its way from the Bedfordshire border, through the highlands in the west, with the river having left extensive deposits of gravel and alluvium before flowing into the fenland. An incredibly rich archaeological landscape has been revealed where the  river valley meets the low-lying fenland.

The Nene Valley dissects the higher land in the north west of the county, carrying the river east to empty into the fenland. As with the Ouse Valley, this junction between highland and lowland has a rich cultural heritage, shown by the discoveries at the famous site of Must Farm. In the far north is the Welland Valley, underlain by Oxford Clay.