The heart of the region is the clay bowl of the Vale of Marshwood surrounded by Upper Greensand ridges and hills with a deeply incised network of valleys, in the east forming the Powerstock Hills - small, conical hills divided by deep valleys. To the north, a broad plateau overlooks the valley of the River Axe and separates the region from the Yeovil Scarplands. To the east are the chalk hills of the Dorset Downs and Cranborne Chase, and the coastal strip of the Weymouth Lowlands, and, to the west, the Greensand transitions into the Blackdowns. Lastly, to the south is Lyme Bay on the English Channel where the coastline is characterised by slumped, mobile cliffs, prominent headlands like Golden Cap, and hidden valleys.