Maldon District - Geology, Landscape and Ecology

Geology, Landscape and Ecology

The district is in the east of Essex (51°41′N 0°45′E / 51.683°N 0.75°E / 51.683; 0.75). Most of the district is the Dengie peninsula but a significant area is also the area above the Blackwater Estuary, bounded by the River Blackwater to the west until near Kelvedon, the boundary then continues south of Tiptree to the Salcott inlet on the Blackwater Estuary. There are very few settlements on the boundary of the district with the North Sea, in contrast with other costal districts of Essex, due to the Dengie Marshes.

The district has a rural character ranging from the tidal salt marshes to farmland and rolling wooded ridges. A network of country lanes provides access to the countryside from the towns and villages. A remote area of tidal mud-flats and saltmarshes at the eastern end of the Dengie peninsula form the Dengie Special Protection Area. The River Blackwater and River Crouch are of international importance for nature conservation particularly for their extensive population of wildfowl and waders.