The Solent
The Solent | |
---|---|
Location | English Channel |
Coordinates | 50°47′12″N 1°17′42″W / 50.78667°N 1.29500°W |
Type | Strait |
Basin countries | England |
Max. length | 20 miles (32 km) |
Max. width | 5 miles (8.0 km) |
Min. width | 1 mile (1.6 km) |
Settlements | Portsmouth |
Designations | |
---|---|
Official name | Solent and Southampton Water |
Designated | 1 October 1998 |
Reference no. | 965[1] |
The Solent (/ˈsoʊlənt/ SOH-lənt) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and mainland Great Britain; the major historic ports of Southampton and Portsmouth lie inland of its shores. It is about 20 miles (32 kilometres) long and varies in width between 2+1⁄2 and 5 mi (4 and 8 km), although the Hurst Spit which projects 1+1⁄2 mi (2.4 km) into the Solent narrows the sea crossing between Hurst Castle and Colwell Bay to just over 1 mi (1.6 km).
The Solent is a major shipping lane for passenger, freight and military vessels. It is also an important recreational area for water sports, particularly
The area is of great ecological and landscape importance, particularly because of the coastal and
Etymology
The word predates Old English, and is first recorded in 731 as Soluente (Bede, H.E. 4, 16). This original spelling suggests a possible derivation from the Brittonic element -uente, which has endured throughout the history of Hampshire, as in the Roman city of Venta Belgarum (Latinised as Venta), the post-Roman kingdom of Y Went, and the modern name of Winchester.[6]
It later appears in
A pre-Celtic and supposedly
Another suggestion is that the name may reflect the number of
Geology
Originally a river valley, the Solent has gradually widened and deepened over many thousands of years. The
The Purbeck Ball Clay contains kaolinite and mica, showing that in the Lutetian stage of the Eocene water from a granite area, probably Dartmoor, flowed into the River Solent.
Seabed survey shows that when the sea level was lower in the Ice Age the River Solent continued the line of the eastern Solent (Spithead) to a point roughly due east of the east end of the Isle of Wight and due south of a point about 3 kilometres (2 mi) west of Selsey Bill, and then south-south-west for about 30 kilometres (19 mi), and then south for about 14 kilometres (9 mi), and then joined the main river flowing down the dry bed of the English Channel.
During the Ice Age, meanders of the Solent's tributaries became incised: for example, an
Since the retreat of the most recent glaciation, the
A new theory—that the Solent was originally a lagoon—was reported in the
The Isle of Wight was formerly contiguous with the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset—the Needles on Wight and Old Harry Rocks on Purbeck are the last remnant of this connection.
Ten thousand years ago a band of relatively
When
Over thousands of years, the land sank in the south (a process still continuing) to submerge many valleys creating today's characteristic rias, such as Southampton Water and Poole Harbour, as well as submerging the Solent. The estuary of the Solent River was gradually flooded, and eventually the Isle of Wight became separated from the mainland as the chalk ridge between The Needles on the island and Old Harry Rocks on the mainland was eroded. This is thought to have happened about 7,500 years ago.[19]
The process of coastal change is still continuing, with the soft cliffs on some parts of the Solent, such as
The Solent is a comparatively shallow stretch of tidal water. It has an unusual double tide[20] that is both favourable and hazardous to maritime activities with its strong tidal movements and quickly changing sea states.
Coupled with the above, the Solent is renowned for its large volume of vessel usage, thus resulting in one of the highest density of declared lifeboat stations in the world. This includes six
History
Remains of human habitation have been found from the prehistoric, Roman, and Saxon eras, showing that humans retreated towards progressively higher ground over these periods. Offshore from Bouldnor, Isle of Wight, divers have found at 11 metres (36 ft) depth the submerged remains of a wooden building that was built there on land around 6000 BC when the sea level was lower and the land was higher.[21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][excessive citations]
There is an early
In 1685, King
The Solent was one of two sites for the
A bank in the centre of the Solent, Bramble Bank, is exposed at low water at spring tide. This, combined with the unique tidal patterns in the area, makes navigation challenging. There is an annual cricket match on Bramble Bank during the lowest tide of the year, but games are often cut short by rising tide.
According to the BBC, the 1⁄2 mi (800 m) tide[clarify] at Ryde gives a major advantage to hovercraft which can travel right up a beach and the Solent is the only place in Western Europe where there is a regular passenger service. The operator, Hovertravel, claims it is the world's only commercial passenger hovercraft.[33] It celebrated 50 years of operation in 2015.[34]
See also
References
- ^ "Solent and Southampton Water". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
- ^ "www.solentpedia.info". www.solentpedia.info. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
- ^ "Unbeatable combination—DP World Southampton". www.dpworldsouthampton.com.
- ^ "www.solentpedia.info". www.solentpedia.info. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
- ^ "www.solentpedia.info". www.solentpedia.info. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
- ^ Matasović, Ranko. "wentā" in the Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic at Indo-European Etymological Dictionaries Online. Brill Online, 2020. Accessed 18 March 2020.
- ISBN 0-19-280074-4), p. 318.
- ^ Theo, Vennemann. Europa Vasconica, Europa Semitica. pp. 511–512.
- ^ "Our Heritage". Solentpedia.
- ^ "Geology of Hengistbury Head". www.hengistbury-head.co.uk. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
- ^ "Solent Geology—Introduction—Dr. Ian West". Soton.ac.uk. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
- ^ Link to map showing former course of Solent River
- ^ "What is the Solent?". 10 August 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
- ^ link to geological map of the area
- ^ Peter Law (14 September 2008). "Secrets of the Solent". Daily Echo.
- ^ thisishampshire.net, "Startling evidence of a Stone Age structure in the Solent". Retrieved 3 Oct. 2009.
- ^ * Carter, Dave; Bray, Malcom (2003). "Sediment Transport Study East Head to Pagham Harbour. Section 1.1". SCOPAC. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2010.}
- ^ ISBN 978-1-8472-5143-5.
- ^ "English Channel Double Tides". www.bristolnomads.org.uk.
- ^ Momber, G., Satchell, J & Gillespie, J. 2009. Mesolithic Horizons Volume 1. Occupation in a submerged Mesolithic landscape pp. Eds McCarton, S, Schulting, R., Warren G & Woodman, P Oxbow 324-332.
- ^ Momber, G, 2008. Boatyard beneath the waves. Current Archaeology. L Westcott (ed), 28 (12), London: Current Publishing.
- ^ Momber, G. 2007. Submerged in Mesolithic Archaeology. In Mesolithic Studies in the North Sea Basin and Beyond. Proceedings of a Newcastle Conference. Eds. Clive Waddington & Kristian Pederson. Oxbow 33-39
- ^ Momber, G. 2006. Mesolithic Occupation: 11m below the waves: In A. Hafner, U. Niffler and U. Ruoff ed. The New View: Underwater Archaeology and the Historic Picture. Antiqua 40. Basel: 56–63.
- ^ Momber, G. 2006. Extracting the Cultural Heritage: a new challenge for the underwater archaeologist: Underwater Technology. Vol. 26 No. 4 pp 105-111.
- IJNA(2005) 34.1 p 347
- ^ Momber, G. and Campbell, C. 2006. Stone Age Stove under the Solent: IJNA (2005) 34.2 p 148-9
- ^ Momber, G. 2004. The inundated landscapes of the Western Solent: In Submarine prehistoric archaeology of the North Sea: research priorities and collaboration with industry. Research Report 141 37-42
- ^ Momber, G. (2000). Drowned and Deserted: a submerged prehistoric landscape in the Solent. I.J.N.A. 29.1: 86-99
- ^ "Why did the Mary Rose sink?". Mary Rose Trust. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
- ^ "The Mary Rose - flagship of Henry VIII". The Mary Rose. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
- ^ 1908 Summer Olympics official report. p. 339.
- ^ "Our Hovercraft". Hovertravel. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
- ^ Justin Parkinson (9 November 2015). "What happened to passenger hovercraft?". BBC News Magazine. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
External links
- Solentpedia A compendium of Solent information
- The Solent Forum
- Solent Rescue—Independent Lifeboat Rescue Organisation
- Solent Aggregates to Outreach A project from the Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology.
- History of the major rivers of southern Britain during the Tertiary
- download tune: Lost Solent River; download score
- "The Solent anchorage positions of the ships (GPS) for Operation Neptune, 1 day before D-day, June 6th 1944"
- Long webpage about the Solent