White Horse Hill -- Chalk

White Horse Hill is, like most of Southern England, made up of a thick layer (about 2 - 4 feet) of chalk. This was formed, like all chalk, from the calcium carbonate shells of marine organisms, after their death.

This immediately tells you that, at some point in the past, Southern England must have been under water -- indeed, this is true -- about 125 million years ago, that area that is Southern England today was situation under a vast sea, around where the Mediterranean sits today.

You can see some of the chalk formation in a section of white horse hill (actually the second pasture before the horse), where the grass has been stripped away vertically.


(I knew all the above theoretically, before visiting the hill -- but it really is amazing to pick up a stone from the ground, and be able to draw with it -- just like normally chalk in a classroom.)