- The Swale
The name "The Swale" refers to the strip of sea separating North
Kent from theIsle of Sheppey .Geography
Originally the Swale formed a conventional river. Before the formation of the
English Channel about 6500 BC the eastern coast ofGreat Britain extended much further into the area of the present-dayNorth Sea , and the Isle of Sheppey formed part of mainland Britain. The channel now occupied by the Swale comprised a river valley facing eastwards. As sea-levels rose, water occupied the whole length of the valley, dividing today's Isle of Sheppey from the mainland.When the Romans arrived in Britain, the Swale extended much wider than it does today, with one part of the Isle of Sheppey — now called the
Isle of Harty — a separate isle. The Isle of Harty no longer forms a separate island but the marshlands now gradually filling the channel delineate it. The channel needs constant dredging to allow use of the busy waterway.The Swale is bridged at its western end by two bridges, the
Kingsferry Bridge and the newSheppey Crossing .Nature
The Swale forms both a
National Nature Reserve and aSpecial Protection Area : theeel grass ,Ray's knotgrass , whiteseakale ,glasswort s andgolden samphire support rare and uncommon migrant butterflies andmoth s, including the Essex emerald, theground lackey , theclouded yellow butterfly and rarehawk-moth s.Birds
The Swale notably provides habitats for the following birds:
*Avocet "Recurvirostra avosetta" at least 17 percent of Great Britain's breeding population
*Marsh Harrier "Circus aeruginosus" at least 15 percent of Great Britain's breeding population
*Mediterranean Gull "Larus melanocephalus"
*Bar-tailed Godwit "Limosa lapponica"
*Eurasian Golden Plover "Pluvialis apricaria"
*Hen Harrier "Circus cyaneus"
*Ringed Plover "Charadrius hiaticula"
*Black-tailed Godwit "Limosa limosa islandica"
*Grey Plover "Pluvialis squatarola"
* Knot "Calidris canutus"
*Pintail "Anas acuta"
*Common Redshank "Tringa totanus"
*Shoveler "Anas clypeata"Etymology
North Yorkshire also features a River Swale. Most definitions of the word "swale" indicate it to mean a 'depression in the ground to allow water to drain into'. Whether the names of two rivers have a common root remains unknown.External links
* [http://www.english-nature.org.uk/special/nnr/nnr_details.asp?NNR_ID=149 English Nature page]
* [http://www.jncc.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=2041 Description of Special Protection Area]
*Map sources for gbmapping|TQ999666
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