Sussex

Introduction

The western part of the Sussex coast is low-lying, bordering a coastal plain from the Hampshire border to Brighton, where it is intersected by the South Downs. Chalk cliffs extend from Brighton to Eastbourne interrupted by gaps at the mouths of the Ouse and Cuckmere valleys, and beyond Eastbourne the coast cuts across the southern part of the Wealden dome. Pevensey Levels are alluvial lowlands at the eastern end of the Sussex Low Weald (the Weald Clay vale), and were swamps and fens until they were embanked and reclaimed. At Bexhill, the Tunbridge Wells Sandstone reaches the coast in low cliffs and shore reefs, and beyond Hastings the high sandstone cliffs are cut in Ashdown Sand and Fairlight Clay in the central anticline of the High Weald. Another alluvial lowland at Winchelsea and Rye passes behind the large shingle complex at Dungeness Foreland.

Mean spring tide range on the Sussex coast increases gradually eastward from 4.2 m at the entrance to Chichester Harbour to...