The Mid Severn Sandstone Plateau is a rural landscape and one of the natural regions of central

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, straddling the border between the counties of

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

and Staffordshire. It stretches from the western fringes of the

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

conurbation to Telford in the north and

Kidderminster Kidderminster is a large market and historic minster town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester. Located north of the River Stour and east of the River Severn, in the 2011 census, it ha ...

in the south. The major feature of the plateau is the valley of the

River Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...

, which cuts through it from north to south. It consists of Permian and Triassic-age

New Red Sandstone The New Red Sandstone, chiefly in British geology, is composed of beds of red sandstone and associated rocks laid down throughout the Permian (300 million years ago) to the end of the Triassic (about 200 million years ago), that under ...

getting older as one goes west until one reaches Silurian and Carboniferous-age siltstones and coals west of the river.

Geography

The plateau is listed as National Character Area 66 by

Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...

, the UK Government's advisor on the

natural environment The natural environment or natural world encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally, meaning in this case not artificial. The term is most often applied to the Earth or some parts of Earth. This environment encompasses ...

. The NCA covers an area of and measures around 25 kilometres from west to east and 50 kilometres from north to south. To the west and southwest, the land ascends from the

Severn Valley The Severn Valley is a rural area of the West Midlands region of England, through which the River Severn runs and the Severn Valley Railway steam heritage line operates, starting at its northernmost point in Bridgnorth, Shropshire and runni ...

to the

Shropshire Hills The Shropshire Hills are a dissected upland area and one of the natural regions of England. They lie wholly within the county of Shropshire and encompass several distinctive and well-known landmarks, such as the Long Mynd, Wenlock Edge, The W ...

and Herefordshire Plateau. To the east it rises from the Stour Valley into the Black Country and Arden. In the south, the rolling terrain gradually descends into the Severn and Avon Vales, while, in the north, it transitions to the clays of the Shropshire and Staffordshire Plain.''Mid Severn Sandstone Plateau - Character Area 66''
at www.naturalengland.org.uk. Accessed on 8 Apr 2013. There is a national nature reserve, the Wye Forest NNR, within the region, as well as a small portion (13 ha) of the

Shropshire Hills AONB The Shropshire Hills area, in the English county of Shropshire, is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty ( AONB). It is located in the south of the county, extending to its border with Wales. Designated in 1958, the area encompass ...

. Its major watercourses are the rivers

Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...

, Stour and Worfe. The average elevation is 97 metres; the plateau reaching its highest point at .''NCA 66: Mid Severn Sandstone Plateau - Key Facts & Data''
at www.naturalengland.org.uk. Accessed on 7 Apr 2013.

References

Natural regions of England Landforms of Shropshire Landforms of Staffordshire Plateaus of England {{Staffordshire-geo-stub