New Chine is a geological feature on the south west coast of the
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
( the
Back of the Wight). It is west of the village of
Chale. It is a sandy coastal ravine, one of a number of such
chines on the island created by stream erosion of soft
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...
rocks. It leads from the 190 foot high clifftop to a
knickpoint approximately one third of way down the cliff face above
Chale Bay beach.
The Chine is one of three chines that have been eroded by a small unnamed brook that descends from
Chale that drains rainwater from the west side of
St. Catherine's Hill. The other two chines are
Ladder Chine
Ladder Chine is a geological feature on the south west coast of the Isle of Wight, England ( the Back of the Wight). It is west of the village of Chale. It is a sandy coastal ravine, one of a number of such chines on the island created by s ...
and
Walpen Chine. The brook initially wound its way to the cliff face and its descent over the edge created Ladder chine. As the cliff eroded, the brook found a shorter path to the sea and started creating Walpen Chine to the east of Ladder chine. As the cliff eroded further, the brook moved east again and is currently eroding an unnamed chine labelled New Chine.
New Chine consists of two small narrow ravines that feed the same knickpoint. The main ravine has the brook running through it for all but the driest parts of the summer. The smaller more westerly ravine is eroded when the brook overflows during flash flooding and the excess water finds a second route to the cliff edge.
The
Isle of Wight Coastal Path runs alongside the top of the chine and part of the brook.
External links
{{Chines on the Isle of Wight
Chines of the Isle of Wight