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

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, straddling the border between the counties of

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

and

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

. 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, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

conurbation to Telford in the north and

Kidderminster Kidderminster is a market town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester, England, Worcester. Located north of the River Stour, Worcestershire, River Stour and east of the River Severn, in th ...

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

River Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...

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

New Red Sandstone The New Red Sandstone, chiefly in United Kingdom, 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 a ...

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 A National Character Area (NCA) is a natural subdivision of England based on a combination of landscape, biodiversity, geodiversity and economic activity. There are 159 National Character Areas and they follow natural, rather than administrative, b ...

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 life, biotic and abiotic component, abiotic things occurring nature, naturally, meaning in this case not artificiality, artificial. The term is most often applied to Earth or some parts ...

. 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 runnin ...

to the

Shropshire Hills The Shropshire Hills are a dissected Highland, 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 ...

and Herefordshire Plateau. To the east it rises from the Stour Valley into the

Black Country The Black Country is an area of England's West Midlands. It is mainly urban, covering most of the Dudley and Sandwell metropolitan boroughs, with the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall and the City of Wolverhampton. The road between Wolverhampto ...

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

Wyre Forest __NOTOC__ Wyre Forest is a large, semi-natural (partially unmanaged) woodland and forest measuring which straddles the borders of Worcestershire and Shropshire, England. Knowles Mill, a former corn mill owned by the National Trust lies wi ...

NNR, within the region, as well as a small portion (13 ha) of the

Shropshire Hills AONB The Shropshire Hills National Landscape is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in Shropshire, England. It is located in the south of the county, extending to its border with Wales. Designated in 1958, the area encompasses o ...

. Its major watercourses are the rivers

Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...

, 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