_ VOL. XIV. (3) THE COTTESWOLD HILLS 231 
highest point is at Broadway Hill, 1048 feet. The largest 
area over 1000 feet above sea level, is around Cleeve 
Common ; a smaller area at this elevation is at Broadway 
Hill; the only other place rising to above 1000 feet, is a 
small area at Cutsdean Hill. 
At the north of the Cotteswolds, Meon Hill is 637 feet, 
and Jlimington Downs are 864 feet. On the east of the 
Cotteswolds the only area above 800 feet is at Rissington, 
816 feet. 
The greatest length of the Cotteswold Hills as now 
defined is 57 miles, and the greatest breadth, from Standish 
Beacon to Wilcote, 35 miles. Detached from the steep 
western escarpment are various, more or less conical hills, 
Robins Wood (Matson), Churchdown (Chosen), Dumble- 
ton, Bredon Hill, etc. They can hardly be considered to 
be Cotteswolds properly, but are rightly described by 
geologists as outliers of the Cotteswolds. 
The division of the area of the Cotteswold Hills into 
two portions, Upper and Lower Cotteswolds, or North 
and South Cotteswolds, seems to have been generally 
adopted. The Stroud Valley has been usually taken as 
the line of division; for it is the most marked break in the 
western escarpment. But for geological purposes I found 
it necessary to suggest three divisions North, Mid, and 
South Cotteswolds. (See above, p. 222). 
The general trend of the Cotteswold plateau has two 
distinct directions. North of Stinchcombe Hill the trend 
is south-west to north-east, what is technically termed a 
Caledonian direction; but south of that hill the trend is 
north and south, or Malvernian. Really, to the south of 
Stinchcombe, there is somewhat of a bay-like contour of 
the escarpment—concave westwards—due to, and betoken- 
ing a certain amount of domical elevation in the South 
Gloucestershire coalfield. 
In technical geography the elevated dipping plateau of 
the Cotteswolds is termed a ‘ cuesta.’ 
Q2 
