27 



country near Newmarket, whence the land slopes northward 

 and north-westward down to the broad level of the South Fens. 

 The river Lark and the hills between Newmarket and Bury 

 may be considered as forming the north-east boundary of this 

 district. 



The valleys of the Rhee and Granta run almost directly 

 parallel to the strike of the Chalk escarpment, following indeed 

 very closely the main outcrop of the Chalk Marl; so that roughly 

 speaking we may say that Chalk forms the foundation of all the 

 south-eastern portion of the county above described, and is only 

 covered by drift deposits where it rises into high ground in the 

 extreme South and East. 



The third district comprises the south-western part of 

 Cambridgeshire, with the adjacent portions of Bedfordshire and 

 Huntingdon, between the valleys of the Rhee and Granta on the 

 one hand and those of the Ivel and Ouse on the other; the 

 intermediate high ground constitutes a kind of table-land, and 

 the whole district is a country of clays, the Cretaceous and 

 Jurassic Clays are only separated by a thin strip of Neocomian 

 Sand, while covering all and concealing them from sight over a 

 considerable area lies a thick sheet of stiff Boulder Clay ; this 

 latter sends out long spurs to the North and East, such as those 

 of Haslingfield, Madingiey and Drayton, from which excellent 

 views are obtained over the broad and low lying valley of the 

 Cam. Northward the country slopes down through Histon, 

 Oakington, Long Stanton, Rampton and Cottenham to the fens 

 bordering the old west branch of the Ouse which receives 

 the waters of the Cam near Thetford, about three miles south 

 of Ely. 



The old course of the river Ouse therefore separates the 

 above mentioned southern districts from the rest of the county 

 on the North, and the Cambridgeshire Fenland thus forms the 

 fourth and last of the natural regions into which the county may 

 be divided. This great plain of the fens is inteiTupted only by a 

 few low islands which rise from amidst its wide expanse, and by 

 the somewhat bolder outlines of the old Isle of Ely, which 

 forms an irregular patch of elevated ground from Haddenham 

 and Sutton through Stretham and Witchford to Ely and thence 

 in a northerly spur to Chetisham and Downham. 



