Claygate Ridge

The Claygate Ridge is a marked ridge of hills in south London capped by deposits of the topmost beds of the London Clay known as the Claygate Beds. ["Sheet 270 South London", 1:50,000 Geology Series, British Geological Survey, Keyworth, 1998, ISBN 075183206-5] It includes Sydenham Hill and Crystal Palace and also parts of Dulwich and Upper Norwood, though not all this is of Claygate Beds. The upper parts of the ridge average a little above convert|100|m|ft, with an uninterrupted view north across the valley of the Thames. To the west lies the broad valley of the Wandle, and to the east the Pool River. To the south, lower layers of the London Clay and Palaeocene deposits lie between the ridge and the dip slope of the North Downs.

The area has in the past had brick fields and has many railway tunnels. It is the location of two prominent transmitting towers, Crystal Palace transmitting station and Croydon transmitting station.

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