Topography and Geometry
North of the estuary mouth extend the Sands of Forvie, the most extensive sand dune formation in Europe, which has been shown to have been a Stone Age settlement. Some of the dunes north of the estuary rise to a height of about 80 metres (260 ft) and the lower ones to the south of the estuary rise to about 50 metres (160 ft) in height. Proceeding from the mouth the estuary inland, there are initially beach sands at the margin, thence shingle beach and mudflats. Quickly, by the time of reaching the first roadway bridge crossing about 1,300 metres (4,300 ft) up the estuary, there are mussel beds and marshy areas.
At its widest point the Ythan Estuary is approximately 780 metres (2,560 ft) wide. The verges of the upper reaches range from extensive mudflats to marsh and fen. Further upstream is a small island known as Geck Island (grid reference NJ999278) inaccessible to waders even at low tide, and which is a haven for cormorants. The broader landscape drained by the Ythan near the coast is a generally mild sloping farmland known as the Buchan plain, which is virtually devoid of trees. In the glacial era, the Ythan River at this point would have been a torrent of melt waters streaming down from the Scottish Highlands.
Read more about this topic: Ythan Estuary
Famous quotes containing the words topography and/or geometry:
“That the mere matter of a poem, for instance—its subject, its given incidents or situation; that the mere matter of a picture—the actual circumstances of an event, the actual topography of a landscape—should be nothing without the form, the spirit of the handling, that this form, this mode of handling, should become an end in itself, should penetrate every part of the matter;Mthis is what all art constantly strives after, and achieves in different degrees.”
—Walter Pater (1839–1894)
“... geometry became a symbol for human relations, except that it was better, because in geometry things never go bad. If certain things occur, if certain lines meet, an angle is born. You cannot fail. It’s not going to fail; it is eternal. I found in rules of mathematics a peace and a trust that I could not place in human beings. This sublimation was total and remained total. Thus, I’m able to avoid or manipulate or process pain.”
—Louise Bourgeois (b. 1911)