Portal:Kent/Featured article/5

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The Isle of Sheppey is a small (36 square miles, 94 km²) island off the northern coast of Kent, England in the Thames Estuary, some 38 miles (62km) to the east of central London. Sheppey is derived from the ancient Saxon "Sceapige", meaning isle of sheep, and even today the extensive marshes which make up a considerable proportion of the island provide grazing for large flocks of them. The island, like much of North Kent, comprises London Clay and is a plentiful source of fossils.

The land mass referred to as Sheppey consists of three main islands: Sheppey, the Isle of Harty and the Isle of Elmley (it was once known as 'The Isles of Sheppey', before the channels separating them silted up), but the marshy nature of the land to the south of the island means that it is so crossed by channels and drains as to consist of a multitude of islands. The ground is mainly low-lying, but at Minster rises to about 165ft.