Garden of England

The north of Kent is a plain bordering the Thames Estuary. South of this is the North Downs, a chalk downland ridge which crosses the county from north-west to south-east and which forms dramatic chalk cliffs, including the White Cliffs of Dover, where it meets the English Channel. The south-west of the county contains part of the Greensand Ridge and the Weald, the area between the North and South Downs. The south-east of the county contains the low-lying Romney Marsh. The North Downs and High Weald have been designated national landscapes. The geography of the county lends itself to the cultivation of fruit orchards, and it has been nicknamed "the Garden of England". In north-west Kent, industries include aggregate building material extraction, printing, and scientific research. Coal mining has also played its part in the county's industrial heritage.