Walpen Chine is a geological feature on the south west coast of the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

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 ...

. It is west of the village of

Chale Chale is a village and civil parish on the Isle of Wight of England, in the United Kingdom. It is located three kilometres from Niton in the south of the Island in the area known as the Back of the Wight. The village of Chale lies at the foot ...

. It is a sandy coastal ravine, one of a number of such

chine A chine () is a steep-sided coastal gorge where a river flows to the sea through, typically, soft eroding cliffs of sandstone or clays. The word is still in use in central Southern England—notably in East Devon, Dorset, Hampshire and the Is ...

s on the island created by stream erosion of soft

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...

rocks. It leads from the 190 feet high clifftop next to the

Isle of Wight coastal path The Isle of Wight Coastal Path (or Coastal Footpath) is a circular long-distance footpath of 70 miles (113 km) around the Isle of Wight, UK. It follows public footpaths and minor lanes, with some sections along roads. Route The pat ...

to a

knickpoint In geomorphology, a knickpoint or nickpoint is part of a river or channel where there is a sharp change in channel bed slope, such as a waterfall or lake. Knickpoints reflect different conditions and processes on the river, often caused by pre ...

approximately halfway down the cliff face above

Chale Bay Chale Bay is a bay on the south-west coast of the Isle of Wight, England. It lies to the west of the village of Chale from which it takes its name. It faces south-west towards the English Channel, its shoreline is in length and is gently curvin ...

beach. The chine is one of three that have been eroded by a small unnamed brook that descends from

that drains rainwater from the west side of St. Catherine's Hill. The other two chines are

Ladder Chine Ladder Chine is a geological feature on the south west coast of the Isle of Wight, England ( the Back of the Wight). It is west of the village of Chale. It is a sandy coastal ravine, one of a number of such chines on the island created by stre ...

and

New Chine New Chine is a geological feature on the south west coast of the Isle of Wight, England (the Back of the Wight). It is west of the village of Chale. It is a sandy coastal ravine, one of a number of such chines on the island created by stream e ...

. The brook initially wound its way to the cliff face and its descent over the edge created Ladder Chine. As the cliff eroded, the brook found a shorter path to the sea and started creating Walpen Chine to the east of Ladder chine. As the cliff eroded further, the brook moved east again and is currently eroding New Chine. Ladder and Walpen Chines are both now dry and in Walpen Chine the river bed can be seen heading back uphill to the cliff edge.

References

{{Chines on the Isle of Wight Chines of the Isle of Wight