Dover

Sister cities

• Calais
• Split
• Huber Heights

History

Archaeological finds have shown that there were Stone Age people in the area, and that some Iron Age finds also exist. During the Roman period, the area became part of the Roman communications network. It was connected by road to Canterbury and Watling Street and it became Portus Dubris, a fortified port. Dover has a partly preserved Roman lighthouse (the tallest surviving Roman structure in Britain) and the remains of a villa with preserved Roman wall paintings. Dover later figured in the Domesday Book (1086). Forts were built above the port and lighthouses were constructed to guide passing ships. It is one of the Cinque Ports. and has served as a bastion against various attackers: notably the French during the Napoleonic Wars and Germany during the Second World War. During the Cold War, a regional seat of government was located within the White Cliffs beneath Dover Castle. This is omitted from the strategic objects appearing on the Soviet 1:10,000 city plan of Dover that was produced in 1974. The port would have served as an embarkation point for sending reinforcements to the British Army of the Rhine in the event of a Soviet ground invasion of Europe. In 1974, a discovery was made at Langdon Bay off the coast near Dover. It contained bronze axes of French design and is probably the remainder of the cargo of a sunken ship. At the same time, this find also shows that trade routes across the Channel between England and France existed already in the Bronze Age, or even earlier. In 1992, the so-called Dover boat from the Bronze Age was discovered in six metres depth underwater. This is one of the oldest finds of a seaworthy boat. Using the radiocarbon method of investigation, the boat's construction was dated to approximately 1550 BC. First recorded in its Latinised…

Geography

Dover is in the south-east corner of Britain. From South Foreland, the nearest point to the European mainland, Cap Gris Nez is away across the Strait of Dover. The site of its original settlement lies in the valley of the River Dour, sheltering from the prevailing south-westerly winds. This has led to the silting up of the river mouth by the action of longshore drift. The town has been forced into making artificial breakwaters to keep the port in being. These breakwaters have been extended and adapted so that the port lies almost entirely on reclaimed land. The higher land on either side of the valley – the Western Heights and the eastern high point on which Dover Castle stands – has been adapted to perform the function of protection against invaders. The town has gradually extended up the river valley, encompassing several villages in doing so. Little growth is possible along the coast, since the cliffs are on the sea's edge. The railway, being tunnelled and embanked, skirts the foot of the cliffs. Dover has an oceanic climate (Köppen classification Cfb) similar to the rest of the United Kingdom with mild temperatures year-round and a light amount of rainfall each month. The warmest recorded temperature was , recorded at Langdon Bay on 25 July 2019, While the lowest recorded temperature was , recorded at Dover RMS on 31 January 1972. The temperature is usually between and .

Most-observed species

• Herring Gull

  Larus argentatus Pontoppidan, 1763 · Aves
  6,105
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  5,476
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  4,926
• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,695
• Western Jackdaw

  Coloeus monedula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,391
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  4,356
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,321
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,729

Most recent

• M 3.7 — 2015-05-22
  3 km SSE of Ramsgate, United Kingdom
• M 3.5 — 2009-03-03
  1 km ENE of Hawkinge, United Kingdom
• M 2.7 — 2008-11-26
  France
• M 2.7 — 2008-08-08
  27 km ESE of Felixstowe, United Kingdom
• M 4.6 — 2007-04-28
  1 km WNW of Lympne, United Kingdom
• M 2.6 — 2007-03-02
  46 km NE of Broadstairs, United Kingdom