Buckinghamshire


Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial county in South East England northeast of London. The biggest city is Milton Keynes. The county has two rather different areas. The south leads from the River Thames up the gentle slopes of the Chiltern Hills. The north along the Vale of Aylesbury and in the area of the City of Milton Keynes is quite level and is the southern catchment of the River Great Ouse.

The typical rock is white Cretaceous chalk which is despite being limestone not suitable for karstification, so there are no natural caves. But quarrying and mining has taken place for chalk, clay for brick making, and gravel and sand in the river valleys. Flint, also extracted from the chalk quarries, was used for buildings, which is actually typical for several counties in England. Several former quarries are now flooded, some have become nature reserves, wetlands with a wide range of wild plants and animals. Only one of the underground quarries or mines is open to the public.