The Chew Valley is an area in North Somerset, England, named after the River Chew, which rises at Chewton Mendip, and joins the River Avon at Keynsham. Technically, the area of the valley is bounded by the water catchment area of the Chew and its tributaries; however, the name Chew Valley is often used less formally to cover other nearby areas, for example, Blagdon Lake and its environs, which by a stricter definition are part of the Yeo Valley. The valley is an area of rich arable and dairy farmland, interspersed with a number of villages. The landscape consists of the valley of the River Chew and is generally low-lying and undulating. It is bounded by higher ground ranging from Dundry Down to the north, the Lulsgate Plateau to the west, the Mendip Hills to the south and the Hinton Blewett, Marksbury and Newton Saint Loe plateau areas to the east. The valley's boundary generally follows the top of scarp slopes except at the southwestern and southeastern boundaries where flat upper areas of the Chew Valley grade gently into the Yeo Valley and eastern Mendip Hills respectively.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chew_Valley

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1876: Abdul Hamid II became Sultan of the Ottoman Empire when his brother Murad V was deposed. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdul_Hamid_II)

1888: In Victorian London, Jack the Ripper claimed his first victim. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_the_Ripper)

1920: Polish forces, led by their cavalry, defeated the Bolshevik Red Army in the Battle of Komarów. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Komar%C3%B3w)

1986: After a collision with a freighter, Soviet ocean liner Admiral Nakhimov sank in the Black Sea within 7 minutes, killing 398 on board. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Admiral_Nakhimov_(ship))

1992: Pascal Lissouba was inaugurated as the President of the Republic of the Congo after a multi-party presidential election, ending a long history of one-party Marxist rule. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal_Lissouba)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

"Try to learn to breathe deeply, really to taste food when you eat, and when you sleep really to sleep. Try as much as possible to be wholly alive with all your might, and when you laugh, laugh like hell. And when you get angry, get good and angry. Try to be alive. You will be dead soon enough." -- William Saroyan (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Saroyan)