Geology
Viewed geologically, the Pays de Bray is a relatively small eroded anticline along the Bray fault, breaking through rocks on the fringe of the Parisian Basin. The latter forming the chalk plateaus around it. It is a small version of the Weald of Kent and Sussex but reveals the beds more deeply; down to the Upper Jurassic clay.
To the north is the Upper Cretaceous plateau of Picardy with the Pays de Caux to the west and the Vexin to the south-east. The erosion has exposed clay beds in an elliptically-shaped region which is called the buttonhole of the Pays de Bray. A "boutonnière" (buttonhole), in French geological language, is an eroded anticline. This is why the Pays de Bray's outline is shaped as a buttonhole, marked as it is with surrounding escarpments of 60 to 100 metres in height, making it a distinct physical and cultural entity.
The pays de Bray is rich in springs and several watercourses rise there; notably the Epte and the Andelle, tributaries of the Seine. The Béthune and the Eaulne flow into the Arques which enters the English Channel at Dieppe. Among the most notable springs are those of Forges-les-Eaux ("Forges-the-Waters") which gave it and its surroundings the renown of a spa. As a result of its clay-rich soil, the traditional building style of the Pays de Bray is of cob (sometimes changed to brick since the 19th) and tile throughout, showing wattle and daub structures.
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