River Solent facts for kids
The River Solent was a very old river that doesn't exist anymore! Long, long ago, during a time called the Paleocene (that's about 66 to 56 million years ago!), this river flowed through the area we now know as the coast of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Imagine a big river where the sea is now!
What Happened to the River Solent?
The River Solent was one of the biggest rivers in southern England. There were two other huge rivers, the Proto-Thames and the Bytham. But unlike them, the River Solent wasn't destroyed by a super cold period called the Anglian Glaciation about 450,000 years ago.
So, what happened to it? The River Solent disappeared after the last ice age ended. As the ice melted, sea levels rose a lot. The river valley got completely flooded. It became part of what we now call The Solent, which is a narrow stretch of sea. This sea sits between the Isle of Wight and the mainland of Hampshire.
The River Solent started from a place where the River Frome is today. Many of its smaller rivers, called tributaries, still flow today! These include the River Test, the River Itchen, the River Avon, and the River Medina.
You might even visit towns that are built near parts of the old River Solent. For example, Cowes and East Cowes on the Isle of Wight are built around the mouth of the River Medina. This area was once a shallow valley created by the River Solent before it was flooded by the rising sea.
The Ground Around the River
The land around where the River Solent used to be is mostly made of chalk. It also has older clays and sands, which formed millions of years ago. These layers of rock and soil tell us a lot about the ancient river and how the landscape has changed over time.
